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THIRTEENTH REGIMENT

NEW HAMPSHIRE VOLUNTEER INFANTRY

IN THE WAE OF THE REBELLION
1861-1865

A DIARY

COVERING THREE YEARS AND A DAY

S. MILLETT THOMPSON

LIEUTENANT THIRTEENTH N. H. VOLUNTEERS

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BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY

1888

-mi

The Riverside Press, Cambridge:
Electrotyped and Printed by II. 0. Houghton & Co.

DEDICATION.

To my own family, to ray Comrades in the Thirteenth
Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry now
surviving, to the memory of the dead, and to the families
of all, I most heartily dedicate the historical pages of
this book.

S. MiLLETT Thompson.

Providence, Rhode Island,

April 27, 1888.

A\\\

PREFACE.

In this book the Thirteenth Regiment is treated of as a unit. All
personal items, whether concerning myself or any other member of the
Regiment, are entered to do an act of justice, to relate an occurrence
either of a limited or a general interest, or to fix a date or fact. Eulo-
gies, obituaries, and the making any one person prominent to the dispar-
agement or exclusion of others, have been carefully avoided. Repetitions
and duplication of statements have been entered only to make the nar-
rative more clear, or as matters of corroboration ; the book, running
between a narrative and a diary, must needs be complete with each day,
and still maintain the form of a narrative.

I have nothing to say against the collective body of the regular volun-
teer officers and soldiers of the Southern army as such ; though fre-
quently carried out of the right by the external pressure of their own
section, they were infinitely better than the order of things which they
represented ; they were the very best men the South possessed, and I
cannot, and would not if I could, detract from or wipe out their bravery,
courage and honor.

Adhering to plain facts, I have endeavored to reproduce, as nearly as
maybe, the affairs, sentiments and spirit of the times of the war; for
the sjiirit of a day, a time or an age is the very soul of its history, with-
out which a string of bald facts is a bit of mere book-keeping.

It is desired that the reader of this book shall gain some idea of what
it cost, in labor, fighting and suffering, to re-unite the dissevered States
of the American Union ; for every regiment in the Northern army had
experiences similar to those of the Thirteenth, and many of them suf-
fered more severely and lost more heavily, — and to gain that idea in
some measure multiply this Thirteenth Regiment's work and sacrifices
by 2,050, the number, equivalently, of regiments in the Northern army
engaged in that war.

vi PREFACE.

Slang phrases, and a sort of camp language, were used in the army
immensely ; they are not classic, but when a hapjiy plirase, or a slang
phrase of a reasonable character, condenses a page into a line and con-
veys its meaning clear, that phrase should be written until it becomes
classic — grammarian dignity is the stage-coach, terse phrase the light-
ning express. Still, we hold all marred language under protest.

In making the sketches and tracing the maps, the chief aim has been
not to be artistic, but by outlines to enable any person, with this book in
hand, to find the exact spots where the Thirteenth camped or fought ;
and nearly all the plats and maps look the way the Thirteenth faced or
moved. Both sketches and tracings I made with my pen, and they are
reproduced here by photogravure process. The official maps used were
those of Brevet Brig. Gen. N. Michler.

No statements have been drawn from cheap newspaper accounts, popu-
lar yarns or realms dimesque. The negro is represented without preju-
dice or favor, and as I saw him ; and the broad things said of him, or
by him, have been entered merely to show what he was. Swearing
enough was done in the army to last any reasonable people until the
millennium, and I have seen no need of repeating it here. The ideas and
opinions ventured are such as I have entertained for many years, some
during the war, and have seen no reason to change.

It was thought best to use the word battle for all engagements inscribed
upon the flag. Names are attached to quotations by courtesy, to show
whence the statements came. Col. Stevens was applied to for historical
data the same as all the other officers of the Regiment and large num-
bers of the men, but he furnished nothing for this book.

The war was no holiday excursion, and but for the soldiers' fun the
army had gone half mad ; the few jokes in this book have been put in as
a common property ; the Thirteenth, as well as tli« army as a whole,
laughed' far more than it wept, and will remember its enjoyments far
beyond the fading of its woes ; but to reproduce the sports of the sol-
diers, to describe their merry-making and fun, to relate their yarns and
stories, to write their laughable anecdotes and jokes with any reasonable
degree of clearness and justice, were impossible for any man, and I will
not presume to make the attempt, and have carefully avoided all attempts
at being funny.

My interest in the war and its results was increased by the fact that
when a boy, twelve to fifteen years of age, I had served as a conductor
on the Underground Riiilroad ; that is, guiding numerous escaped slaves
through New Hampshire woods toward Canada.

PREFACE. vii

While temporarily engaged in business in the West in 1877-9, I
employed a number of evenings in writing for my family such reminis-
cences of my army life as came to mind. Upon informing Asst. Surgeon
Sullivan of this in 1880, he first of all suggested to me the idea of writ-
ing this book, and urged me to do it. I hesitated for a while, but finally
undertook the work — not because of any ability of mine to do the sub-
ject full justice, but simply because no one else arose to do a much
needed work — the meagre early accounts of her Regiments reflecting
too small a measure of credit upon our State. Though entering upon the
work with hesitancy, I believed it to be the sheerest folly for history to
wither upon the stem of any man's modesty — such stems are too dry and
dead : modesty was not instituted to choke facts into oblivion, excej^ting
such facts as are most shameful and unfit to print.

The most of this book has been written offhand. I am not a profes-
sional writer ; and whether able or otherwise, after examining the many
letters, diaries and 23apers required in the work, after reading every
reliable publication that I could obtain bearing upon the particular service
in which the Thirteenth took a part, after visiting the fields and camps
in Virginia twice for data and measurements, after making all the tracings
and sketches, after the necessary correspondence and the arranging and
writing of all, and attending to my private business at the same time, I
have had no spare time in which to smooth sentences or polish para-
graphs, — this book must be taken, as it were, in fatigue dress, there is
no attempt at dress-parade about it, and the plain facts must stand as
they are in their plain words.

In tlie compilation of data for this history I have drawn my information from the
following sources: Official papers and statements furnished by, and diaries and letters
written during- the war by, Lt. Col. George Bowers ; Lt. Col. William Grantman ;
Lt. Col. Normand Smith (letters) ; Maj. Nathan D. Stoodley (diary and letters) ;
Capt. Charles 0. Bradley ; Capt. George N. Julian (letters) ; Capt. Charles H. Cur-
tis ; Capt. M. T. Betton ; Capt. Buel C. Carter ; Capt. James M. Durell (official
papers) ; Capt. William J. Ladd ; Capt. Rufus P Staniels (diaries) ; Quarter-master
Mortier L. Morrison ; Asst. Surgeon John Sullivan ; Lieut. W. H. H. Young ; Hos-
pital Steward and Lieut. Royal B. Prescott (diaries and letters) ; Lieut. S. Millett
Thompson (diary and letters) ; Lieut. Henry Churchill ; Adjt. Nathan B. Boutwell ;
Adjt. George H. Taggard (diary) ; Sergt. Major James M. Hodgdon (diary) ; Mu-
sicians : James M. Caswell ; Charles W. Washburn (letters). Sergeants : W. G.
Burnham ; Charles W. Batchellor (letters) ; Thomas S. Wentworth. Privates :
Cyrus G. Drew (diary) ; Albion J. Jenness (letters) ; Horace W. Waldron ; Henry
S. Paul ; William B. Luey (diary) , and others both officers and men whose names
are mentioned in the text. Above diaries and letters were written at the front.

Besides the above, the following named sources of information among others were
consulted :

vm PREFACE.

Gen. A. A. Humphreys' Viiginia Cam- Tenny's Civil War.

paign of 1864 and lyti.j. Military and Civil History of Connecticut.

Capt. Frederick Phisterer's Statistical Capt. James A. Sanborn's MS. Hist. 10th

Record. N. H. Regiment.

New Hampshire in the Rebellion. Pollard's Lost Cause.

Burnside and the Ninth Army Corps. Greeley's American Conflict.

C. C Coffin's — ' Carleton's ' — -writing-s. Lossing's Civil War.

Adjt. Generals' Reports of all the New Moore's Rebellion Record.

England States, New York and New N. H. Adjt. General's Reports.

Jersey. A bound volume of New Hampshire

Official papers, letters and rolls in State Newspapei-s sent by A. S. Batchellor,

House, Concord. Esq-? of Littleton.

Lt. Gen. U. S. Grant's Memoirs. Muster out RoUs of the Thirteenth.

The manuscript, excepting the addition made after the Reunion of
1887, was read before publication by Major Nathan D. Stoodley, Asst.
Surgeon Sullivan, Lieut. Royal B. Prescott and Sergeant James M.
Woods of the Publication Committee, who were privileged by the
writer to correct, amend, add to, or cut from, the text as in their judg-
ment was in the interest of the history. The Thirteenth and the writer
are greatly indebted to these gentlemen for their unwearied efforts,
painstaking care, and unswerving, hearty fidelity to the best interests
of this history, its subject and its writer. We have worked together as
one, in the spirit of the belief that the noble acts of each member of the
Regiment are the joint property and heritage of all, — nevertheless the
writer assumes all responsibilities, and takes to himself all blame that
may attach for any inadvertences occurring in the book.

Previous to the committee's examination the writer had revised the
manuscript in consultation with Major Stoodley, Lt. Col. Grantman and
Lt. Col. Smith, — the purpose being to furnish so far as possible an abso-
lute record to stand as an authority.

S. MILLETT THOMPSON.

CONTENTS,

Authorities for the Work ..'..... Preface

JULY 1, 1862, TO DECEMBER 10, 1862.

PAGE

Call for Troops 1

Camp Colby, at Concord N. H 2

March to the Seat of War . • 9

Camp Chase, at Arlington Heights 11

Camp Casey, at Fairfax Seminary 20

March through Maryland to Fredericksburg .... 27

II.

DECEMBER 11, 1862, TO FEBRUARY 8, 1863.

Battle of Fredericksburg 36

Camp opposite Fredericksburg 88

Move from Fredericksburg to Newport News . . • 108

III.
FEBRUARY 9, TO MAY 16, 1863.

Camp at Newport News Ill

Camp near Suffolk 117

Siege of Suffolk 126

Battle of Providence Church Road 139

IV.

MAY 17, 1863, TO APRIL 18, 1864.

Camp in ' The Pines,' at Getty's Station 161

' Blackberry Raid ' 171

Camp Gilmore, at Getty's Station 195

Thirteenth goes Home to vote 238

X CONTENTS.

APRIL 19, TO MAY 11, 1864.

Spring Campaign of 1864 250

March to Yorktown, and Camp there 251

Move to Bermuda Hundred 256

Battle of Port Walthall 259

Battle of Swift Creek 263

VI.

MAY 12, TO MAY 27, 1864.

Advance on Richmond 279

Battle of Kingsland Creek 279

Battle of Drury's Bluff 284

Camp at Bermuda Hundred 322

VII.

MAY 28, TO JUNE 15, 1864.

March to Cold Harbor . . • 335

Battle of Cold Harbor 338

Move to Front of Petersburg 374

Battle of Battery Five 382

Thirteenth captures a Redan with Five Cannon . . . 387

VIII.

JUNE 16, TO SEPTEMBER 27, 1864.

Siege of Petersburg. In the Trenches 404

Sketches of Life in a Military Hospital 405

Mine Explosion and Crater 431

Return to Bermuda Hundred 447

IX.

SEPTEiVIBER 28, 1864, TO FEBRUARY 28, 1865.

Battle of Fort Harrison 458

Before Richmond 490

Battle of Fair Oaks 499

Winter Camp near Fort Harrison 508

Company C in Redoubt McConihe 527

CONTENTS. xi

MARCH 1, TO APRIL 12, 1865.

Last Campaign 537

Roster of Gen. Devens' 3d Division, 24th Corps .... 549

Surrender of Richmond 552

First Flag hoisted in Richmond 559

Thirteenth the First Regiment in 563

Close of the War — Peace 589

Assasination of President Lincoln 589

Scenes in Boston, April 3-16, 1865 590

Welcoming the Homing Army Corps 595

Thirteenth mustered out and starts for Home .... 606

Personal Notes 612

Band of the Thirteenth 625

XII.

Roster of the Thirteenth 638

Reunion at Boston, April 5, 1887 686

Index 709

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS.

PAGE

Flags of Thirteenth Frontispiece

Regiment of Infantry in Line of Battle 7

Camp Chase 17

Part of Fredericksburg Battle-field 43

Part of Fredericksburg Battle-field 47

Fredericksburg 51

Region nt;ar Falmouth Camp 91

Providence Church Road 149

Suffolk and Vicinity 155

Camp Gilmore and Vicinity 197

Swift Creek — Plat 271

Swift Creek — Map 275

Drury's Bluff and Vicinity . • 313

Drury's Bluff 317

Bermuda Hundred 331

Cold Harbor 353

Cold Harbor and VicnaTY 377

Confederate Battle Flags 391

Battery Five 399

Petersburg Front 411

Position of Thirteenth on Petersburg Front .... 415

Fort Harrison 469

Fort Harrison and Vicinity 473

Fair Oaks and Vicinity 505

Forrester Papers 561

Richmond and Vicinity — Two Maps 636, 637

FRONTISPIECE - DESCRIPTION.

The flags at the right — National — and at the left — State —
were received by the Thirteenth at Concord, Oct. 5, 1862. These
two flags and the two small flags — ' Markers ' — were carried by
the Thirteenth through its term of service, its camps, marches and
battles, until Dee. 27, 1SG4, when the first flag, the markers being
retained, was returned to the custody of the State. The flag in
the centre was received Dec. 27, 1864, with the names of the bat-
tles inscribed thereon — see page .519; and this one with the old
State flag were the two carried into Richmond by the Thirteenth
on April 3, 1865. All these flags are now preserved, in a glass
case, in the rotunda of the Capitol at Concord.

THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT.

July 1, 1862, to December 10, 1862.

July 1. Tues. At the instance of the Governors of seventeen loyal
States, Abraham Lincoln, President of the. United States, on this day
issues a call for 300,000 volunteers, and under this call enlistments at
once commence, and there enlists for three years : —

THE THIRTEENTH REGIMENT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE VOLUNTEER

INFANTRY.

Rockingham, Hillsborough, and Strafford Counties each furnishing
two companies, and Merrimac, Grafton, Carroll, and Coos Counties one
company each ; assembling from all parts of the State, from Connecticut
River to the lakes of Maine, from tide water to Canada line.

Under this call for 300,000 men for three years, New Hampshire fur-
nishes 6,390 men — 1,337 men above its quota. Total enlistments in
all the loyal States and Territories are 421,465 men — 86,630 men above
all their quotas.

" We are coming-, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more."

Sept. 1. Mon. Capt. N. D. Stoodley's 130 men for Company G
met for drill, for the fii-st time, Monday, August 18, in Peterboro', and
have since been drilling there. About the same time 104 men, enlisted
in and about Littleton for Company D, by Capt. Farr, and Lieutenants
Kilburn and Saunders, commenced drilling ; and in the other recruiting
centres about equally early and speedy activity and preparation have
been going on.

Sept. 6. Sat. Company E drilling ; a part at New Market, and
about sixty men in the Town Hall at Exeter. The Avriter enlisted
as a private, and knew nothing whatever about military drill. Capt.
Julian promised to have him appointed First Sergeant of the company,
if he would drill the men before they went into camp at Concord.
Whereupon the writer purchased a book of tactics, borrowed a gun, shut
himself up in a room for a day and a night of hard study, then met his
men in the Town Hall, Exeter, and commenced a month of drill —
amateur in every respect. The men had assembled, and drilled some-
what, previous to this date.

THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

CAMP COLBY, NEAR CONCORD, N. H.

Sept. 11. Thurs. Company C, enlisted by Capt. Bradley and Lieu-
tenants Curtis and Staniels, goes into camp at Camp Colby, Dark Plains,
near Concord. The first company in camp.

Each man of the Thirteenth, on coming into camp, receives a woolen
blanket, a rubber blanket, a knife, fork, and spoon, all wofully cheap, a
tin plate and a tin dipper.

Sept. 12. Fri. Co. G goes into camp at Dark Plains to-day. Co.
E leaves Exeter and New Market at 5 p. m., arrives in barracks at
Camp Colby at 9 p. m., having been delayed for a time in Concord while
waiting to receive blankets. There is much mud in the road, the even-
ing is rainy and very dark, most of the men are merry and full of sport,
some can sing, all can yell, and the trip, on the whole, is one not soon to
be foi'gotten.

The Littleton Company, D, arrived in camp to-day, about half an
hour after the arrival of Co. G. Every man of Company D can read
and write, and there are but few in the whole Regiment who cannot.

Camp Colby is about one and one fourth miles from Concord, near the
Chichester road.

Sept. 13. Sat. The men of the 13th, in the barracks, last night,
represented the entire animal creation, and for six or eight hours nearly
five hundred men together howled, crowed, bleated, barked, roared,
squealed, yelled, screamed, sung, and laughed to the limit of vocal
powers. They lay on boards, "■ boxy-shelves," having a blanket and
about two ryestraws per man for a bed. They are all up at 5 a. m. to-
day, the roll is called, and all are set at work to clear, of brush and
bushes, the ground for their tents.

The larger jmrt of the Regiment comes into camp to-day, — a total
of seven or eight hundred men. A motley company, many in their
worst suits of clothes, the most looking as if they had not slept for a
week.

Last night's entertainment used up many of the men. Bedlam,
Noah's Ark, a Hen Convention, and the Plain of Babel were all sought
to be outdone tAvice over. One more such night would fit all the men
for the madhouse. The funny fools were all there, and the drunken
fools also ; all striving and straining to see who could be the most fool-
ish, and each seemed to exceed all his fellows. A few feathers were the
cause of a fui-iouj struggle for possession by at least an hundred men.
One man found a few straws, cut them up into inch pieces, distributed
the pieces to his friends, who solemnly placed them on the boards, under
various parts of their bodies, and instantly fell to snoring loud enough to
wake the dead. But this only served to provoke numerous contests in the
bunks. Bottles were passed around, emptied, and then thrown out of
the windows, where they lie this morning, mutely explaining the cause

1862 CAMP COLBY. 3

of last night's uproar. General good nature prevailed, however, and
scarce an angry word was heard ; a night of rough, coarse fun, and hoys'
wild play.

Sept. 14. Sun. Tents are now up, the most of the work done yes-
terday, and the camp begins to present a very respectable appearance.
But we are located on a most unattractive ground. As one man of the
13th writes : " The smutty-est, pitch-piney-est, huckle-bei-ry-est, darned-
est, scrubby plains in all New England."

When the men file around with their tin plates and cups this morn-
ing for their breakfast, some of them take in a svipply of " grumble " that
lasts until the end of their term of service ; the breakfast is execrable,
there is a general storm of hard words, and the food is thrown in all
directions to pave the camp, while exjiressions of resentment and disgust
are by no means restrained.

Notwithstanding the rough and much worn clothing of the men, and
their generally wearied demeanor, there is ample evidence that we have
here a body of men made up almost wholly of the best young men of our
State, such as are born to command a reasonable degree of respect even
while mere enlisted men.

Sept. 15. Mon. Some of the First Sergeants have "A" tents for
their own use alone. These tents are about seven feel square on the
ground. The First Sergeants and the Adjutant have more work to do
than all the other officers put together. Field officers, in new trappings,
find a wonderful amount of work in standing, in martial attitudes, near
their tent doors ; looking at the crowds of visitors of coui"se. They are
strangers to our camp.

There are nine companies now in camp, 956 men ; and since no com-
pany was the last company to arrive here, we must pass the tenth com-
pany in respectful silence.

Sept. 16. Tues. To those who have lived in houses, the first impres-
sion of a tent is that of very close quarters. Some tents have floors,
others are provided with straw to cover the ground. The days are warm,
nights chilly. Diarrhoea prevalent.

Sept. 17. "Wed. First Dress-parade. Many have come into camp in
their jjoorest suits of clothes for economy's sake, and the appearance of
the line can be better imagined than described. Drill is aching funny.
We are all green. Mistakes are corrected by making still worse mis-
takes. The men in the ranks, grin, giggle and snicker, and now and
then break out into a coarse, country haw-haw. We are reminded of the
young men squads in the old Militia muster days.

Sept. 18. Thurs. Co. G examined by Surgeon Twitchell. He is very
critical and careful, but rapid, and completes the examination of the Regi-
ment in a few days. The storm, about our food, that broke out last Sun-
day, has taught the purveyor of our rations to furnish better material,
and to serve it in a more acceptable manner.

Sept. 19. Pri. Companies E and G mustered in by Capt. Chas.

4 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

Holmes U. S. A. Capt. Stoodley and Lieut. Foi-bush are mustered in
with their company. Capt. Buzzell is taken suddenly ill. (He does not
join the Reg. again for nearly two months.)

Sept. 20. Sat. To-day completes the muster-in of the rank and file.
In the equalization of com2)anies, Co. E receives several men from Co. I.
and among them Royal B. Prescott, of Nashua, on duty in the Hospital
Department. The week has been very rainy.

Sept. 21. Sun. The camp is crowded with visitors, an inquisitivf
nuisance. Patriotism develops early in New Hampshire. A little gii-
was asked to sing the song beginning, " I want to be an angel," when
she answered, " No I don't ; I want to be a soldier." Children are beat-
ing drums, blowing horns, whistling marches and singing patriotic songs,
all up and down the State, from Canada to the sea.

Sept. 22. Mon. Uniforms received. The 10th N. H. leaves Man-
chester for the seat of war. They number 928 men. Many of the 13th
go down to see them depart. The 12tli and 14th Regts. are encamped
near us.

Sept. 23. Tues. The field officers are mustered in to-day, and the
oi'ganization of the Tliirteenth is now complete.

One night while in camp here, between one and two hundred men
manage to elude the guard. A large party of them return from the city
to camp, in the small hours of the morning, and plan to enter within the
guard lines. Ranging themselves a few yards apart in a long line, tying
handkerchiefs around their faces and turning up coat collars by way of
disguise, at a concerted signal they make a simultaneous rush past the
sentinels. The most of the sentinels cried : " Halt ; who goes there ? "
But some of them called out : " Stop ; what 's yer name ? " No one of
the party halted or stopped, however, but each gave the sentinels a differ-
ent answer as they rushed past the bewildered fellows to their quarters ;
'Pete,' 'Jim,' 'Dick,' 'Bill,' 'Tiger,' ' Reb,' 'The devil,' 'Spoons,'
' Beans,' and all sorts of names were given ; and one minute later every
one of our party was under a blanket in his tent and fast asleep.

Sept. 25. Thurs. Regiment furloughed until Monday eveninr ' >t.
29th.

Sept; 29. Mon. The men and officers are coming in, from their last
visit to their friends and families, to-day, and as they assemble it may
be well to note a few of the circumstances, and record the " Spirit of the
Times," in which this Thirteenth New Hampshire Regiment has been
raised all so speedily ; and not only this Regiment, but five others in
New Ham})shire all within the space of a few weeks. New Hampshire
exceeding her quota by over 1,300 volunteers. AU these six regiments,
with the Thirteenth, are composed of the best material which New Hamp-
shire can furnish. All are entitled to equal credit, but we cannot in-
clude in our sketch more than its special subject. As for the Thirteenth,
almost every man has received a common school education, and many
have advanced much farther. The Thirteenth comprises farmers, manu-

1862 CAMP COLBY. 5

facturers, mechanics o£ almost every trade and men o£ almost every call-
ing, bookkeepers, clerks, tradesmen, the substantial, intelligent, energetic
doers of the country's work, and well infoi'med in the country's needs
and resources. Its officers comprise lawyers, physicians, students of law,
medicine, mining and engineering ; and representatives of large wealth
and homes of luxury. The Thirteenth is emphatically a body of con-
genial comjjanions, its companies formed of fellow townsmen, school-
mates, playmates and lifelong friends, and of the entire Regiment there
are scarcely a score who cannot read and write. Insult a man of this
command, and you will equally insult almost every man in it ; offer a
worthy purpose, and the most will join in securing its best ends.

Such are our men and officers. Now let us see why such men fly to
arms. As for the bounties paid, they are generally regarded merely as
means to help cai-e for families and dependents in the absence of princi-
pals. Many a man of the Thirteenth gives up from two to five dollars for
every doUar which the service yields, counting bounties and all. This is
actual fact, and susceptible of proof. Some need the bounties ; to some
they are a mere bagatelle ; while the cravens, to be found everywhere,
are with us very few indeed. These men go in to win back a country.
They feel that there is a burglar in the house, and either proprietor or
burglar must remove. 300,000, 600,000, 1,000,000 men are now
wanted. The South is arming every man and boy, and the war is as-
suming stupendous proportions.

In April and May (the early part), affairs with our anny in Virginia
turned out badly ; before May was out the whole North was in extreme
excitement, almost a panic, on account of the dangers to Washington ;
England, and wavering France, appeared ready to recognize the Confed-
eracy in the event of any apparently decisive disaster to the Union
Army ; the air was overflowing with discouraging rumors ; the very par
triotism of some of our prominent generals was in doubt, and June gave
its terrible battles before Richmond, its seven days' retreat to Malvern
Hill, and rapid changes among the highest commanders in our army.
%hile the South moved steadily, determinedly, sternly on in its pur-
po^>e ; every loss it met but seemed to rouse it to more mighty efforts to
retrieve them all, with solid gains in addition. The heat of July only in-
creased the heat of the contest, in which the North seemed to make no sub-
stantial headway, while its confusion and doubt continued. August came
in with the South at the flood tide of confidence, now sure of sweeping
away the Northern army like chaff ; while the repeated calls in the North
for more troops, and in almost countless numbers, threw more and more
of burden upon our people and shook the confidence of many. August
went out in blood, disaster and retreat ; another Bull Run. Alarm for
the Capital spread anew, and the calls for lint, bandages, nurses and
medical help, covipled with the vast lists of the dead and wounded, sent
a shiver of horror throughout the whole North. September found the
South magnificently victorious, and our army in Virginia terribly shat-

6 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

tered, ending, in short, with the drawn hattle of awful Antietam, " The
bloodiest day America ever saw." And the far away successes in the
Southwest have had but little effect in raising the depression in New
England, caused by the terrible disasters nearer home. To cap the
whole. Gen. Lee, in these very days, has raised himself apparently above
all our Generals, and almost to the level of the greatest military names
in history. His prowess and ability are greater causes of anxiety than
our country has felt at any time during this war ; while the English
aristocrats, using the rebellion sympathizers in the Northern States, the
Copperheads, as a cave of echoes, praise and extol him without measure.

Surely the Thirteenth enlisted, and came into camp, on a day, when
war, despite all our successes, never in this country wore so grim a vis-
age, and was so monstrous in every aspect ; and to sign an enlistment
paper seemed like signing one's own death warrant, to be executed by
the slow torture of labor, exposure, danger, hair-breadth escapes, fear,
sickness, incurable diseases, wounds, pain, dismemberment, and rotting
alive ; and after death a burial, uncoffined, in some unmarked hole in the
ground, or left above ground to the buzzards, beasts and vermin, our toe
and finger bones to be picked up and wrought into necklaces and curios.

The prospect is not Elysian. Still, to-night, our camp is rapidly filling
up by our men and officers returning cheerfully from their little furlough;
and with them there also rush to arms over 80,000 men in less than one
month.

Oct. 4. Sat. Fair. All this pleasant week wives and sweethearts,
mothers and sisters, fathers and brothers, children and friends have
flocked to our camp, and still they come ; while a crowd of all sorts of
people has gathered so great that a cordon around camp is a necessity.
The Thirteenth feels the first tight grip of a provost guard. To see
friends outside of camp, or to receive them within, a pass must be
shown. The Thirteenth has the name of being the most orderly regi-
ment that has been organized in this camp. Company D claims the
honor of being the only company which came into camp with every man
sober. This statement, however, meets the following : " Company G
came into camp with 125 or 130 men, all sober. N. D. S." Every
company came in remarkably free from intoxicated men. There has
been a generous rivalry to see which company would appear the best.

Oct. 5. Sun. Fair. Thirteenth marches to Concord from Camp
Colby in the afternoon, and receives its colors — a State flag, a National
flag and two guidons — from the hands of Hon. Allen Tenney, Sec. of
State, in front of the State House, and in the presence of a large assem-
bly of the people. Later in the day the Regiment returns to camp ; sick
of buncombe speechifying, and the patting of " our departing heroes "
on the back, by the brave homesmen, the men who do not enlist. The
Thirteenth is armed with Springfield rifles, weighing with the bayonet
nine and one fourth pounds, calibre 58 ; for a minie bullet weighing 500
grains, and propelled by about sixty grains of powder. The bayonet.

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1862 MARCH TO THE SEAT OF WAR. 9

straight jjattern, weighs three fourths of a pound. The Thirteenth holds
its first Dress-parade in camp with arms, colors, and uniform complete.

An enterprising Lieutenant in the Thirteenth wants a cook-house,
finds an old tool house in a field, has it lugged to camj) and fitted up.
The owner, after a world of fencing, threats and parley, receives $50 for
it. And then the sharp fellow hoasts that he will " hev ther tool-howse
back "gin tew, after ther rigimunt er gone." It accidentally takes fii'e
to-night, and will let no more at the fair rental of $25 per week. The
whole thing was not worth ten dollars.

MARCH TO THE SEAT OF WAR.

Oct. 6. Mon. Clear, very pleasant. Reg. marches from Camp
Colby at 4 a. m., takes cars at Concord depot and moves out at 7 a. m.
Breakfast at Nashua, a free gift from the citizens and very fine, in fact
a magnificent treat. The men have their haversacks filled for the pur-
poses of lunch later on. Too many canteens are full also.

After marching through the streets, escorted by several bands, and
by citizens, cadets, militia and three companies of firemen, and past the
residences of Col. Stevens and Lt. Col. Bowers, the Reg. leaves Nashua
at 12 noon ; arrives at Worcester at 2 p. m. ; stops there about half an
hour for sundry errands and for grapes, pears and peaches, which are
brought to the cars in large quantities, and given away, or sold for mere
nothing ; and then proceeds direct to Allyn's Point on the Thames
River, arriving and embarking on the steamer "• City of Boston " about
8 p. m. • It is a beautiful moonlit night, and we enjoy a splendid sail.

Oct. 7. Tues. Thirteenth arrives at Jersey City at 4 a. m. about
daylight, debarks, breakfasts on soup, bread and coffee, a plenty, but
none too good ; and remains about the wharf a long time indulging in an
abundance of sunshine, loafing and Jersey jieaches. Small teams ap-
pearing at the wharf with quantities of the best fruit the country affords.
At 10 a. m. we take cars, dirty cattle cars, twenty-nine of them, for
Philadelphia, and have a rough, hard ride. One man was severely in-
jured by falling from the car during a brief delay between New York
and Philadelphia. E. F. Trow of E was severely hurt in the foot, by
the Adjutant's horse stepping upon it, while the horses were being placed
upon the cars at Jersey City. This caused his early discharge from the
service. We arrive at 6 p. m., landing at the freight depot at the foot of
Washington Avenue, then move at once to ^upjier at the Cooper Shop
Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, No. 1009 Otsego Street.

Of this famous saloon, Mr. Wm. R. S. Cooper, of Philadelphia, fur-
nishes the writer with the following under date of Dec. 12, 1884. The
saloon was stai'ted by his father Mr. Wm. M. Cooper, himself and a few
friends, in April 1861. At first they paid all the expenses out of their
own pockets, afterwards received contributions for the saloon from citi-
zens of Philadelphia, but not a cent from the United States, the State or

10 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

the city. They also established a Hospital for sick and wounded sol-
diers. They could feed half a regiment at a time, and a whole regi-
ment about every hour in the day. During the war they fed over
600,000 men, at an expense of ten to fifteen cents per meal. The affair
caused the loss of all of Mr. Cooper's business, and reduced the whole
family to severe straits.

After the supper the Thirteenth marches, together with a large body
of troops, about one and one half miles through the city, amid the cheers
and good-byes of multitudes of the people, who line the streets, and fill
the windows, doorways and balconies. Many houses are brilliantly illu-
minated. We are placed in baggage, cattle and freight cars, near Broad
Street and Washington Avenue, 40 men, and in some cases more, in a
car, and start for Baltimore at 10 p. m. Crossing the Susquehanna at
Havre de Grace, by ferry, the bridge there having been destroyed.

Oct. 8. "Wed. Thirteenth arrives in Baltimore at 6 a. m., after a
hard night's ride in the dirty, stuffy cars. First, we march about two
miles through Baltimore, to the outbound cars, there leave our knapsacks,
and then march half a mile to the soldiers' rooms or caravansary ; there
eat a sort of dogs-fodder breakfast about 9 a. m., and then march back
to the cars again, and about 11 a. m. start for Washington, in a mixed
train of baggage and passenger cars. While in Baltimore a part of the
Reg. have loaded muskets, and we march through the same streets where
the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment was mobbed. The citizens are civil
now, but many of them look sour and ugly. A large number of U. S.
flags are waving from houses as we pass along.

Election at Baltimore to-day. Liquor shops all closed, $500 fine for
selling liquor to-day ; hence this peace.

On the route to Washington soldiers are everywhere ; we pass a large
body of them at the Relay House, and at Annapolis Junction. Like our
ride last night, our ride to-day is slow, tiresome and jerky. Two of our
men were poisoned in Baltimore, and one run over by the cars on the
route to Washington ; all will survive.

We arrive in Washington at 9.30 p. m., and after a supper of corned
beef, bread and coffee at the barracks, we bivouac on the Capitol
grounds, north end, in the mud and wet, without tents, sheltei', cover or
sleep. Less than half the Reg. could be accommodated in the old
barracks. This after a nine hours' ride, to make only forty miles, in
freight cars, chiefly with forty men in a car. Soldiering thus begins to
grow disagreeable.

And hei'e is heard a brogue that is new to us ; a man at the station
calls out to passengers : " All abode fer Baltemoh ! " One man of the
13th writes : " Negroes are here of every shade of color, from the deli-
cate brown seen on a griddle-cake to Japan black, and in such hosts as to
astonish us New Englanders."

1862 CAMP CHASE. 11

CAMP CHASE, ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, VA.

Oct. 9, Thurs. Very warm. " Hot as 4th of July." Our break-
fast is bread, beef and coffee, dinner the same. We leave our bivouac
at 2.15 p. m.. march through Washington, now a rough looking place, via
Pennsylvania Avenue, and amid clouds of dust — down near the bridge
it is six inches deep in the street. We cross the Long Bridge about 4
p. m., and reach Camp Chase, four or five miles from the city, about 6
p. m. We have no supper worth naming. Another night now, and a
very chilly one, is spent on the bare ground of an old cornfield, and
without tents. A man in the loth was sunstruck at noon ; our teeth are
chattering with the cold to-night.

The thermometer of our experience stood at about 80 degrees, at Con-
cord, rose to 120, in the sunshine, as we came along to Philadelphia, and
dropped down towards zero at Baltimore. At Washington, where sol-
diers are a mere commodity, we struck about 32 degrees, and could not
decide whether to thaw or freeze ; and now here at Camp Chase, we
throw all reckoning away, set our chattering teeth, and resolve to take
tilings as best we may, counting disagreeables as incidents of the service.

From our place of bivouac the Capitol is east, Fairfax Seminary south,
and Arlington west ; there are two or three forts in the foreground.
Camps are seen on every hand, and troops in thousands everywhere.

Oct. 10. Fri. Warm, cloudy. The Thii'teenth gathers up its stiff,
chilled and dirty ranks, moves a short distance over across the road, the
officers and men lugging over the entire equipage and baggage, a comi-
cal and amusing caravan, and pitches its tents in open ground, our first
camp ground in Dixie. The ground is bare of grass ; worn oft' by the
ceaseless tramp, tramp, tramp, of thousands of men, and hundreds of
teams, and a little rain suffices to turn the clayey ground into a mortar-
trough. Camp Chase, our part of it, is 2^ miles from Fairfax Seminary,
in a bee line ; 2^ miles from Munson's Hill, and one mile from Gen. R.
E. Lee's old home, Arlington Heights. We are encamped on the main
road. A visit to Arlington House, very fine, and to the mud-chinked,
mud-floored, mud-and-sticks huts of the slaves belonging to the estate,
reveals at a glance both sides of the picture of slavery's curse, while the
whipping-post near by adds a bold stroke of color to the dark side.

Gen. Casey, in command here, is an elderly man, with a smooth face,
a long nose, and white hair, and appears genial. Our rations are chiefly
coffee, coarse brown sugar and hard bread, the latter old and wormy.
We are now to enter upon a term of severe military discipline and drill.

Oct. 11. Sat. Rainy, cold. We fit up our camp during tlie day,
and have a Dress-parade about sunset. We are much exposed ; and
there seems to be no need of exposing raw ti'oops after this fashion, and
no common sense in it whatever. The nights are exceeding chilly. The
Thirteenth looks rather tired and worn out. Oct. O, Sunday, at Con-

12 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

cord, we were up nearly all night ; Monday night we slept packed on a
stuffy boat ; Tuesday night, slept in cattle and freight cars ; Wednesday
night, slept out doors, indoors, anywhere ; Thursday night, slept on the
ground ; Friday got into tents, but slept on the bare ground. This,
added to much eating and feasting, and many hundred miles of travel
over bad roads, with i-ough boards for seats, in cars on poor springs,
proves a severe strain upon all the members of the Regiment, and a
large number of men are sick. As a whole the Reg. was veiy sober,
quiet and orderly, and did itself great credit, while coming to the front.

Oct. 12. Sun. Showery. The soil here is a clammy, slimy, sticky
mass of mud. Regular morning Inspection. The men have lain on the
ground so much that their new clothing is very dirty, and arms rusty.
Much fault-finding at our first inspection on Virginia soil, and the whole
Regiment is oi'dered to clean clothing and arms before night, which is
done. A well filled mail-bag is started for home, and the day closes
with a Dress-parade and religious services. These always go together in
the army, just the same as in civil life. Very well ; one of the greatest
civilizing agencies, or influences, in the world is the putting on of nice, new,
clean clothes on Sundays, and then keeping them clean. The Thirteenth
is in line, the men's and officers' caps are off, the Chaplain reads from
the Bible, then reads a prayer, and then the Band plays the tune of a
familiar hymn. The scene is martial, spirited and fine, the service im-
pressive.

No one could fail to observe the noble bearing, the strong marks of
sterling character, the native independence, honor and manliness, and
the higli intelligence of this command ; the Regiment gives the ap-
pearance of men selected, and above the average of New England citi-
zens.

Oct. 13. Mon. Cool, cloudy. Much labor on camp, and drill. Order
of the day : Reveille and Roll-call at 5.30 a. m. Breakfast, 6.30. Sur-
geons' call, 8.30. Company drill, 9 to 11. Dinner, 12 noon. Company
drill, 1 to 3 p. m. Battalion drill, 3 to 5. Dress-parade, 5. Supper, 6.
Tattoo and Roll-call, 9. Taps, 9.30 ; all lights out in Company quarters.
This gives the officers and men, practically, a drill of seven hours a day.
Besides this the officers have a sword drill of an hour in the forenoon,
at 8 or 9 o'clock, and a school for an hour at 7.30 p. m.

To-night the men have soft bread for their supper, for the first time
since leaving Concord.

Oct. 14. Tues. Showery. Thousands of troops are moving all about
us ; coming, camping, marching, drilling, breaking camp, leaving. W'hile
on parade this afternoon, we are ordered to stack arms and return to
quarters, where the most of the men receive 40 rounds of ammunition.

About 6 p. m. we move out, and take arms again, and are ordered to
hold ourselves in readiness to march at a moment's notice. Surjjlus am-
munition arrives at 8.30 p. m., when the First Sergeants call the roU
again, and every man is supi)lied with tlie full 40 rounds required.

1862 CAMP CHASE. 13

The rebels have driven in our distant pickets, and are reported to be
in force within one day's march. We have heard to-day a heavy can-
nonading, and sharp musketry firing. The report comes in that the rebel
General Stuart's cavalry are making serious trouble near Centreville.

The flurry is over before the night comes on. The Thirteenth, how-
ever, is kept " under arms in quarters " all night.

Our horses are kept saddled and bridled all night ready for immediate
use. Mounted horsemen are hurrying in aU directions, at all hours till
morning. In case of a move we are to support the 9th Mass. Battery.
This is our first night of actual war service, we really expect a fight, and
every man sleeps half awake, all the time expecting, and desiring for
once, to hear the Long Roll.

Oct. 15. "Wed. Very warm. The boys begin to indulge in one or
two unripe persimmons apiece, " just to try a new thing, you know," and
so reduce their capacity for rations fully fifty per cent. The negroes
bring them to camp for sale, and greatly enjoy seeing the green Yankees
taken in, shriveled, by the extremely puckering things. They are abom-
inable. Our First Brigade, consisting of the 15th Conn., 13th N. H.,
142d N. Y. and 9th Mass. Regts., of General Casey's Division — which is
known as the Defenses of Washington — is reviewed by Gen. Casey, the
review lasting from 8.30 a. m. until 2 p. m.

Six men of the 13th are in regimental Hospital. Their beds are
made of barrel staves laid side by side on poles, with blankets spread
over all.

Oct. 16. Thurs. Warm day. We have August days, and Novem-
ber nights, and the chill that comes up from the Potomac with its fog, is
like the chill from a tomb, as it is. The guarding of Long Bridge is an
exceedingly disagreeable business ; cold and muddy, wet and windy, and
there is no shelter worth the name, and we much prefer our present po-
sition in the outer defenses. Again the Thirteenth is ordered to lie on
its arms all night.

Orders arrive at 10 p. m. for us to be ready to march at 7 a. m. on
the morrow, the 13th and 142d N. Y. to form a brigade under the tem-
porary command of Col. Stevens. Passes have been granted for two
men a day from each company to visit Alexandria ; these are now re-
voked, and the grip of camp discipline tightens anew. The foi't at Long
Bridge is called Ft. Runyon, next Ft. Albany, next Ft. Craig.

Oct. 17. Fri. Very warm. Thirteenth is off in a hurry about 7
a. ni., tents and all, for Upton's Hill. The men are heavily loaded with
full knapsacks, haversacks, and their arms. We take a roundabout road,
and make the distance, six or seven miles, at a dog trot, arriving at 11.30
a. m. The guide selected the wrong road. On the way we pass Ball's
Cross Roads and Munson's Hill. There is a fort on almost every hill
hereabout. We are, here, two miles from Falls Church (which is about
eight miles from Alexandria on the LeesburgPike) and fifteen miles from
the Bull Run battlefield. A large detail from the Thirteenth go out on

14 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

picket, our First Picket Diiti/, of 48 hours, beyond the earthworks of the
outer defenses of Wasliington ; no shelter. Our line of jnckets extends
about three miles each way from Falls Chiirch,

The portion of the Thirteenth remaining at Upton's Hill receive a few
tents, but the most of them are delayed in coming, and so the men rough
it, and bid high for chills and fever. Sleeping on the bare ground, in
the open air, at this time of year, is a dangei'ous thing to do, especially
for raw troops. One third of the army are continually used up by this
ill-considered way of doing the business of war. The camp guard load
their muskets for the first time to-night, at " Camp Corcoran," Upton's
Hill — an act denounced by men who afterwards deserted !

We do not like the picket diet, principally boiled salt beef cold, and
hard Ijread soaked in water and then fried with salt pork sliced thin, and
coffee, made of sui'face water, and sweetened with cheap brown sugar.

Oct. 18. Sat. P^ine weather. Thirteenth fitting up camp at Up-
ton's Hill. The fresh soldier arranges his tent in a very fresh manner.
Two companies, about 125 men, are out on the advance picket line near
Falls Church, which is just within our picket lines. There is only one
pew now left in it and it has been used as a stable for cavalry horses.
The pickets have very poor shelter, mere booths made of boards and
pine brush, and not enough, such as it is.

There has been a severe skirmish at Falls Church, and we can see, for
the first time, how a real battlefield looks. The kinds of bullets and
shells that have cut, battered and smashed these trees, buildings and
fences, are just the kinds which our bodies must catch ! — however, we
can give as well as take. Our pickets here are in a very dense growth of
small pine-trees, and at night no man can see two rods.

Oct. 19. Sun. Very warm at noon. The picket is relieved about
noon, and returns to Upton's Hill. The Thirteenth is put through In-
spection, Parade, Drill and Religious services, all to the same tune,
nearly, by the new Band, and after a long, busy day, about 5 p. m. re-
ceives orders to return at once to Camp Chase. Takes down its tents,
packs up, is joined by the incoming picket, and, about 6 p. m., marches
off at the top of its speed. Arrives at or near Camp Chase at 8 p. m.,
having marched the last five or six miles in an hour and a half. The
men are too tired to pitch their tents, our old tents which arrive late,
about 10 p. m., and make their camp for the night anywhere and anyhow.
The night is very cold, raining in the evening and freezing tovv^ard morn-
ing. About 100 men off duty, more or less sick. The night is enlivened
by a magnificent mule-chorus, sung by the Division teams.

Oct. 20. Mon. Very cold. JMany men rose this morning very
sick. (The writer, and several others, did not recover from the bad
effects of last night's exposure until after the march to, and the battle
of, Fredericksburg in December. Their discharge from the service was
repeatedly offered them, but as often refused.) The Reg. moves this
morning about a mile and stakes ground for a new camp, about half a

18G2 CAMP CHASE. 15

mile from oui* first camjjing ground near Arlington Heights. By night
our tents are ujj and we begin to be settled again, but upon an abominable
camping ground. About the only fence we have seen standing in Vir-
ginia was a few rods of it near Fall's Church. Houses, groves, or-
chards, shade trees and fences have been destroyed or leveled for miles
on miles around.

'• We turned in late last night, and after a few hours' rest I was called
out about 4 a. m., with all of Company F, and was hurried down with
Lieuts. Hall and Dustin to guard the Virginia end of the Long Bridge.
We had no rations, and when breakfast time came along, I went to a
Sutler's tent near by to purchase something for myself and the men of the
Company to eat, but found that I did not have a cent of money with
me ; I had lost somewhere that morning my pocket-book containing over
$800, belonging in part to myself and the rest to the men of my Com-
pany. I could not return to camp without a permit, so I hurried across
the bridge to Gen. Casey's Hdqrs. in Washington, stated to him the cir-
cumstances and obtained permission to return to camp. I then went to
our camp with Lieut. Hall, and we hunted for the lost pocket-book for a
long time but without success. While we were talking about the matter,
and devising plans to recover the money, it incidentally occui-red to Lieut.
Hall to see if his own money were safe. Thrusting his hands into his
pockets, he drew forth not his own pocket-book, but the very one I had
lost. We sat down then and there, counted the money and found it all
right. Lieut. Hall was surprised beyond measure. While dressing in the
morning, in the hurry and darkness, we had exchanged pantaloons. That
exchange caused me several hours of worry, and a tramp of nearly ten
miles done at the top of my speed. On the whole the hardest morning's
work I ever did in my life before bi'eakfast." Lieut. Young.

Oct. 21. Tues. Fair. Yesterday's work all for nothing, excepting
practice ; and the Thirteenth moves half a mile nearer the Potomac, and
pitches its tents again ; " A " tents, and six men crowded into each tent.
The Upton's Hill expedition was very damaging to the health of the
men. The experiment is tried to see how quickly the Reg. can assem-
ble, pack and be ready to march ; it is accomplished inside of fifteen
minutes. There is rarely a more stirring scene in the army ; men and
officers are moving in every direction ; laughter, jokes, commands, in-
quiries, are heard everywhere ; wagons loaded, rations distributed, knap-
sacks packed. Every one hurries in perfect order, because every man
knows exactly what work he has to do. .

Oct. 22. Wed. Fair. Thirteenth drilling, seven hours a day.
Many men off duty. Lieut. Penrose, Drill-master, is desirous of en-
forcing a more strict discipline, and threatens to " recommend all officers
for immediate resignation," who do not cease from all familiarity with
their enlisted men. This caste system is regarded as necessary, and is
compulsory. Reg. drawn up in close order and lectured most emphati-

16 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

cally. John J. AVhitteinore is sick, and Royal B. Prescott is emiiloyed
as Acting Hospital Steward.

Oct. 23. Thurs. Fair. Every one cautioned to be ready for an-
other move. Officers' school in full figure ; they are compelled to study
the Tactics very closely, also the Army Regulations, and to perform all
to the letter. Assistant Surgeon John Sullivan joins the Reg. He has
been in the service since June 1861, as a private in the 2d N. H., and
Medical Cadet, U. S. A.

Oct. 24. Fri. Warm. Thirteenth divided between picket, shovel-
ing and camp duties. Officers' messes being organized. A cook stove and
mess-chest costs about $35, and a good appetite costs eighteen hours of
hard work per day.

Oct. 25. Sat. Cool. About these days an enterprising Lieutenant,
in the Thii'teenth, discovers a lot of rebels near a neighboring outhouse,
and prepares for their capture or annihilation. After creepings and cau-
tions enough to take a city, wonderful generalship and unheard-of strategy,
he, with his men, surrounds, surprises and captures them all — and they
prove to be men of the Thirteenth making a night raid on a hencoop !
The more it is mentioned, the less that Lieutenant is happy. The 13th
ordered to furnish a guard for Fort Runyon and Long Bridge, consist-
ing of two officers and 80 to 100 men in all.

Oct. 26. Sun. Very rainy, cold and disagreeable. The Surgeon's
tent is nuich frequented. During a severe shower of rain to-day a large,
new regiment marches into camp with their colors flying, and their Band
playing " The Cam})bells are Coming." They make a fine display.
Enlistments are being made, among the volunteers, for the Regular Army,
and the Navy. None but "No. 1 men" need apply. Inducements: 30
days furlough every year, $50 bounty, $17 per month in pay. The fur-
lough to immediately follow enlistment, transportation free. We have
thus far moved five times, and each succeeding move for the worse.

Oct. 27. Mon. A hard rain storm. Cleared toward noon cold and
blustering. Camp very wet and muddy. About 80 men sent on guard
to Long Bridge, under Capt. Stoodley. An outrageously cold business.
Rest of the Reg. in camp and doing nothing. Long Bridge is about 2^
miles from our camp, is about 1^ miles long, and is the only bridge for
the passage of teams across the Potomac into Virginia. Immense wagon
trains are continually passing, often covering the whole bridge and its
approaches as far as we can see. No person is allowed to cross either
way without a pass, and the labor of the picket officer in examining
these passes is very hard and trying.

Oct. 28. Tues. Fair, very cold. Detachment returns from Long
Bridge at evening. Thirtieenth reviewed, with eight other regiments, by
Gen. Casey. A storm blows tents over and bui-sts them open, and the
rain pouring in makes the ground very wet and muddy. Half the Reg.
are thoroughly drenched.

Oct. 29. Wed. Pleasant day, night chilly and cold. Details go to

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18C2 CAMP CHASE. 19

guard Long Bridge, about 10 men from each company. The guard has
headquarters at an old hotel, by some called the " Revere House," just
at the Virginia end of the bridge. (What appears to be the same old
battered hulk is now standing, May 1885, on the right hand side of the
road as you pass into Virginia.)

Oct. 30. Thurs. Pleasant. Monthly Reports now bother the Cap-
tains' heads ; and to make bad matters worse the wrong kind of rolls are
furnished, the work done twice over. A large detail from the Thir-
teenth are throwing up entrenchments in the rear of Fort Richardson.
It is on a high hill, and we can see the country for miles and miles
around — a vast camp, a wide region of country laid waste, and hun-
dreds of residences in ruins. The Vermont Brigade marches past camp
in grand procession, the soldiers as green as their own native hills. We
now begin to feel like Veterans.

Oct. 31. Fri. Pleasant. Thirteenth review.ed, and mustered for
pay by Col. Dexter R. Wright of the 15th Conn. Vols., now Acting Brig.
General, and commanding our Brigade, consisting of the 15th Conn.,
13th N. H. and 142d N. Y. Regts.

During this month the Thirteenth has enjoyed the privilege of unend-
ing drill — manual, squad, company, battalion, slow, quick, double quick
and run — under Lieut. Penrose of the Regular Army. " He is smarter
than a steel trap, and is mounted on a little wiry horse, a double-concen-
trated combination of git up and git." The 13th had to stand in one
position, at " shoulder-arms," for over two hours at one time to-day while
on Review. A knapsack-hook set in the gun strap, and allowed to seize
the belt, saves much pain in these matters. The forenoon of to-day was
occupied by a special drill preparatory to the afternoon's review. The
officers have their wit and patience sorely tried now by their first
" Monthly Report in the Field."

Reveille is the " Cock-crow " of the army. To one who has risen
before the first call, and is in a position to see as well as hear, the scene
is most interesting. A single bugle call is heard, when instantly the
proper officer, in every regimental camp guard, rouses the Drum-corps ;
they beat the Reveille, the sound rolling in from every direction, far and
near ; the First Sergeants are running down the company streets, parting
the tent openings, and shouting inside, " Turn out here for Roll-call ! "
The men turn out, in every imaginable state of dress, answer to their
names in every tone and compass of which the human voice is capable, a
perfect Babel, and are assigned their duties for the day, if the First
Sergeants can possibly find out beforehand what their duties are to be.
Occasionally this is arranged on the previous evening. The whole noisy
breeze is past in five minutes, and the work of the day begins. But let us
not forget the poor little drummer boy in this noise of Reveille, as he
stands at his tent door, or a little away, half awake, half dressed, " mit
nottings on sgacely," unkempt, shivering, or half frozen, jieddling abroad
his unhappy " r-r-rap-tap-tap," cursed by half the Regiment, while the

20 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

teeth in his unhung jaws can be heard for their chattering nearly half
as far as the sound of the drum.

CAMP CASEY, NEAR FAIRFAX SEMINARY.

Nov. 1. Sat. Very fine day. At noon the 13th receives orders to
be ready to move in two hours, lively work, but we strike tents, pack,
and are ready to move in one hour. We march about five miles to
near Fairfax Seminary, arriving at 3 p. m. A detachment of 81 men
which has been on duty, under Lieuts. Durell and Forbush, guarding
Long Bridge (the Virginia end), and the stores at Ft. Runyon, comes
rushing up to camp just in time to join in the march. Reg. nuich di-
vided ; some of Lieut. Forbush's men are left behind to guard the Camp
Chase property, others join the Reg. after we reach camp, and 500 men
are sent, after arriving near the Seminary, on picket, to a point about
four miles distant, in the outer line of defenses. The remainder are'
settled in camp^ before dark. We passed the Seminary as we came up
and are about half a mile beyond it. This camp is on the south side of
a hill, overlooking Alexandria, about one or two miles distant, and a wide
valley filled with tents and troops as far as one can see. The Orange
Railroad runs along the valley a few rods south of camp, and on it hun-
dreds of cars are continually passing, all in army use. Just south of
camp is a brook called Cameron's Run, and the Old Dominion Mill,
a weak affair. We have taken the place, duties, and camp ground
of Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles's Division, ordered to join the Army of
the Potomac ; and are on the ground just vacated by the 26th Penn.,
which with the 1st and 11th Mass. and the 2d N. H. formed Gen.
Hooker's old Brigade. The 2d N. H., with coloi's tattered, faded and
shabby, moves away as we come into camp.

A charming story comes to camp. 'T is said that a certain south New
Hampshire town possesses a Republican, wealthy very, and closer than
the bark to a tree, and a Democrat not very rich but well to do. Be-
tween them exists a bitter feud. Inasmuch as the Republican's taxes are
far greater than the taxes of any other man, or six men, in the town, this
Democrat conceives a brilliant idea to sting this Republican to the in-
most quick. The idea is no sooner conceived than executed ; and away
drives the Democrat with his swiftest team to all the influential men in
the town. The result is, that volunteers from that town are surprised by
receiving the largest town bounty paid in the State ; and the Republican
aforesaid, mucli against his wish, will and exceedingly sensitive pocket,
pays the bulk of it all, and the bluff old Democrat is hapjiy.

Nov. 2. Sun. Thirteenth settling in new camp. Usual tiresome
inspection, much fatigue work, a Dress-parade, and a little much needed
rest. We are still in Col. Wright's First Brigade of Gen. Casey's Di-
vision, the Defenses of Washington. Our pickets return to camp about
2 p. m. Hospital Steward J. J. Whittemore is very sick from exposure
in sleeping on the ground last night, and Surgeon Twitchell has Royal

1862 CAMP CASEY. 21

B. Prescott of E appointed in his place as Acting Hospital Steward. We
hear distant cannon in the direction of Centreville. A raid hy the ene-
my, who succeed in destroying some railroad property, and in causing
Aides to gallop ahout our camp, with orders that all the regiments he
held ready to fall in at instant call.

Nov. 3. Mon. Thirteenth receives tents and finishes camp. Ex-
pect to spend the winter here, and provide luxuries in the way of stoves,
furniture, etc. The men have the huge round " Sihley " tents, and are
closely packed in, about 18 men to a tent. The officers have " wall "
tents. Tlie writer and Sergt. Van Duzee purchase an " A " tent with
floor and bunks ; " bought out a leaver." A piece of board nailed to the
top of a stake driven into the ground is a table ; a small stove furnishes
much smoke and some heat ; two stools with broken legs are chairs, a
potato with a hole in it is a candlestick. Total cost of entire outfit,
tent, stove, and all, $3.75. This is a sample of the general job lot.
What a come-down from Concord ! Rations now : soft bread, salt beef
and pork, and occasionally potatoes and rice. Many are sick. Surgeon's
call frequently lasts for two hours, and a daily average of nearly a hun-
dred men are prescribed for. The Chaplain's tent is crowded with ex-
pectant soldiers when the mail arrives. If the people at home could real-
ize how valuable letters are to the soldiers, and especially to the sick,
they would be more generous with their pen and ink and spare time.

Nov. 4. Tues. Cold, very. Thirteenth much driven with drill,
picket and labor on the fortifications, has very little rest, and sickness
rapidly increases. A part of the Reg. on picket seven miles from Alex-
andria returns to camp this evening. A large squad of rebel prisoners,
nearly 400, are brought in from beyond our lines. We look curiously
on these strangers. We have no such men up North. A dirty, sallow,
pale-faced, yellow-haired troop, looking ovei'-worked and under-fed.

Nov. 5. W^ed. Cold, raw day, with rain at night. Reg. reviewed
by Gen. Casey. A Captain, two Lieutenants and ninety men of the Reg.
go out on picket about five miles from camp. These picket excursions
are usually for 24 hours. The shelter is very poor, or none at all, and
the men suffer very nuich in the rain, snow-squalls and cold. While on
picket here the men are placed in a line of squads, three men in a squad.
One man of each squad is on guard for two hours, then off four hours,
throughout the day and night. A non-commissioned officer has charge
of about four squads. A reserve, of fifteen or twenty men, under a
Lieutenant, is stationed at a convenient distance to the rear of the main
line of pickets. The captain has charge of all. The men of the Thir-
teenth guard about one mile of the picket line here. Our Brigade of five
regiments sends out 450 men for five miles of the line.

Nov. 6. Thurs. Extremely cold. The miserable stoves in the Sib-
ley tents fill them with smoke. Several stoves get overheated and set
fire to the tents, wet as they are. The guns and equipments get wet,
and the smoke and water together rusts the guns terribly. Such men as

22 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1802

are wise roll up guns and equipments in their blankets, and lie down with
them alongside. The men were to-day supplied with straw, to sleep on,
the first they have received.

Nov. 7. Fri. Cold, a high wind. Severe snow storm lasting all
day. About six inches in depth all over the country. No one of us can
remember any Northern snow storm of equal severity coming so early in
the season. It blows into and breaks down tents, and gives no end of
trouble. The Reg. is treated again to-night with an excellent mule
chorus, from a " camp " of several hundred of them, near by. Mules
and snow are incompatible. " For all purposes of discomfort, snow 's
(hie) snow ; " as one philosopher to-day observes. He drank that ex-
pression in, as it were.

Nov. 8. Sat. Pleasant. The snow nearly gone by night, and the
mud terrible. There are many houses near our camp, and the natives
sell produce at very reasonable prices. We have an abundance of excel-
lent wood for our miserable, smoky stoves.

Nov. 9. Sun. Pleasant. Usual Sunday inspection and parade.
The army is much infested by a lack-lustre set of religious revivalists.
Their zeal is not according to wisdom. The story goes that one of them
pestered a certain New Hampshire Colonel, not of the 13th, out of all
patience. In the midst of a harangue, he informed this Colonel, that he
had baptized eight men of a neighboring regiment, recently. The Col-
onel at once turned to his Adjutant, and ordered him to " detail nine
men to be baptized to-morrow morning ; " adding by way of explanation,
that he " would n't be outdone by any regiment in the service." A rough
way of expressing a common opinion of the work of some of these hare-
brained enthusiasts. Light things are made of light timber.

Nov. 10. Mon. Pleasant, cool. Battalion drill under Gen. Casey,
the first since we left Camp Chase. We look upon bare ground at night,
and next morning see it covered with hundreds of white tents and thou-
sands of troops.

Nov. 11. Tues. Very fine day. Drill, all day. Fairfax Semi-
nary, now used as a Hospital, contains about 1,700 sick and wounded
soldiers, and the deaths among them average eight per day. The
largest and strongest men are the first to break down, while the small
and weakly men appear to l)e benefited by the rough, hard out-door life.

Nov. 12. Wed. Pleasant. Drill. Major Storer, one day along
here, has command of the Reg. when on Dress-parade. Just as he is
about to give an order, and has spoken a word or two, he is interrupted
by a huge mule near by with a tremendous fit of braying. The mide's
noise times in so queerly as to make a, most amusing " annex " to jVIaj.
Storer's remarks, and the Reg. nearly breaks up in laughter. This, how-
ever, is in the early days of discipline, when half of the Reg. act like a
lot of country school-boys, as they are.

Nov. 13. Thurs. Pleasant. Drill — the most at a double-quick.

Nov. 14. Fri. Pleasant. Reg. has the day to fit up camp, and
repair clothing. Rations are short, bad and irregular.

1862 CAMP CASEY. 23

Maj. Gen. Ambrose E, Burnside, under Order of Nov. 14, 1862. as-
sumes command of the Army of the Potomac, relieving Maj. Gen. Geo.
B. McClellan. The army is near Warrenton, Va. Gen. Burnside organ-
izes it in three Grand Divisions ; the Right under Maj. Gen. E. V. Sum-
ner ; the Left under Maj. Gen. W. B. Frankhn ; the Centre under Maj.
Gen. Josejih Hooker. The Union Army numbers about 120,000 men,
and soon is m motion toward Fredericksburg.

Nov. 15. Sat. Fair, cokl. The whole Reg. goes on picket ; that
is, all who are able to go. Many of our men are sick. The Band es-
corts the Reg. out about '2h nailes. The first picket duty of the whole
Regiment. We are to do picket duty by regiments, each out for two
days. President Lincoln issues an order — read in camp : " Enjoining
the orderly observance of the Christian Sunday by the officers and men
in the military and naval service of the United States." Hope so I

Nov. 16. Sun. Fair. Reg. all on picket, five miles from camp.
The first death in our Reg. occurred last nii^ht, Henry S. Sleeper of H,
disease, typhoid fever. Was getting well, but had a relapse from eating
some bread and cheese. The air here is not so invigoi'ating as in the
North, and a man more readily breaks down. Sleeper is buried to-day
near Alexandria. Twenty -eight men sick in regimental Hospital.

Charles A. Young, a boy about sixteen years old, came with the Reg.
as far as Worcester with his brother, Lieut. W. H. H. Young. There the
idea of a boyish venture seized him, and he came along with the Reg. to
its Virginia camp. Riding a tractable mule he visited camps, forts,
lines and places to his heart's content, and obtained an inside view of the
soldiers' life ; shared their rations, their marches, and their tents — and
especially their shiverings on frosty nights — until the venture lost its
charm. He decided to return home. Traveling no^^thwai'd in these
days is not so easy as one might imagine. To cross that Long Bridge
over the Potomac, down yonder, requires a pass. The affair is ex-
plained, and laughed over more or less, and a pass or furlough in full
and regular form is made out, and signed by all the officers in rank up to
Col. Wright, and armed with this the young gentleman leaves camp for
home. Somehow his name, in later days, became identified with the
Reg., and Adjt. Gen. Head furnished him with a Discharge from the ser-
vice, the same as (other) soldiers receive. He has received numerous
letters from military sources, and even official communications from the
U. S. Pension office. This history could not possibly be complete with-
out a little sketch of " Y " Company, averaging in point of years the
youngest company in the military service of the United States.

Nov. 17. Mon. Very cold. The Thirteenth, about 700 men, re-
turns from picket to camp about 3 p. m. Have had a hard, cold piece of
work for 48 hours, on a line three and a half miles long, consisting of a
line of picket squads at the front, three men together ; half a mile in their
rear several stations of reserves ; still another half a mile farther back
the Grand Guard, and many patrols employed between. The picket duty

24 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

a practical drill, with continual changes. The total strength of the Reg.
now fit for duty, is about 700 men, about 200 men are sick in tents. Our
Band meets the Reg. on the road to camp and escorts us in. The Band
plays well. Another burial, of a member of the 13th, to-day.

Gen. Sumner with his Right Grand Division approaches Fredericks-
burg. He proposes to cross the river, and to occupy the city and the
heights back of it, witli his advance, consisting of the 2d Corps under
Gen. Couch, and the 9th Corps, under Gen. Wilcox.

Nov. 18. Tues. A heavy rain-storm to-night. Reg. in camp. Many
of the men are very sick. The average number of men reported sick, by
the Surgeon, every day for a month past, has been nearly twenty men in
each company. It is the soldier's privilege to growl and gi'umble, and
now, in this camp and service, there is a plenty of reason for it.

Nov. 19. "Wed. Rainy, cold. Reg. in camp. Rations have greatly
improved of late. We now have beef, fresh and salt, salt pork, potatoes,
beans, rice, hard bread, fresh flour and brown bread, coffee, tea, sugar,
molasses and pickles. In the absence of butter, and in the presence of
jaundice, the last two items are in great demand and favor. Again the
Captains in the Thirteenth are furnished with the wrong rolls in blank,
and after expending many hours of labor upon them, receive correct
blanks, and, with the proverbial cheerfulness of patriotic soldiers, do the
work all over again. The work consists of wa-iting the names of a hun-
dred men, and appending numerous remarks to each name.

Nov. 20. Thurs. Heavy rain-storm. Reg. with the Brigade started
out for a Review, but it is postponed on account of the storm. Chess,
checkers and cards wliile away many a dreary, slow hour in a rainy
camp. Nearly 300 men to-day on the sick list. The three great " cure-
alls " in the army are quinine, mercury and whiskey. Our regimental
Hospital is in an old house formerly occupied by overseers or slave driv-
ers. This has been a cold, wet week, and sickness increases so rapidly
that the Medical Inspector demands the exercise of greater care of the
men, and a shortening of the hours of drill and labor. Dress coats re-
ceived — made of a sort of blue broadcloth.

Nov. 21. Fri. Clearing. Reg. at work on its camp. Cooking
utensils are inspected, and every man is provided with a new tin plate,
tin cup, knife, fork and spoon ; and every Company with its full number
of kettles and cookmg utensils. As a result things look more nicely now
when the men file around to the cook's tent for their boil, roast, hash,
soup, coffee and bread. After drawing their rations the men go, sit
down, and devour them like gentlemen, and hogs. One soldier of the
13th writes home : " When we get home again we will not any more
sit at table to eat, but will seize our grub in our fists, and eat it on tlie
wood pile, or m the back yard — like soldiers."

Gen. Burnside's army is concentrating along Stafford Heights opposite
Fredericksburg. Generals Hooker and Sumner desire to ford the Rap-
pahannock, the bridges having been destroyed and the pontons delayed

1862 CAMP CASEY. 25

in coming. Gen. Burnside regards the attempt too hazardous and refuses
to give his consent. Gen. Lee about Nov. 18th reenforced his small
garrison in and about the city and is now rapidly occupying the heights
beyond. He believes that Gen. Burnside can, and will, cross the river,
and proposes to fight him after he has crossed. Gen. Sumner to-day de-
mands the surrender of the city — Gen. Patrick, Provost Marshal Gen-
eral of the Army of the Potomac, crossing the river under a flag of truce
with the demand — wliich is refused.

Nov. 22. Sat. Fair. Reg. expends a great deal of (wasted) labor
in grading and turni)iking its Company streets. The " bulge-barrel," the
old stubs of brooms, the shovels and an old plantation hoe or two carried
by the police gang in procession all about camp, is one of the pictures of
camp life not to be forgotten. The police gang is composed of men sen-
tenced to clean the camp as a punishment for small misdemeanors. They
almost always behave with the utmost stupidity, mere automatons, never
looking up or exhibiting a spark of intelligence while at work. The
worst labor in the affair is done by the Corporal, and his guard, who must
keep the men at work, whether the camp needs cleaning or not. TJie
" bulge-barrel " has two sticks nailed to the sides, both sticks with long
ends extending so that it may be carried upright by two men.

Nov. 23. Sun. Exceeding cold and raw, wind northwest. Reg.
goes on picket for 48 hours, beyond the earthwork defenses, and about
seven miles from camp, toward the southwest, their position said to be
near Falls Church again. Whole Reg. excepting the sick leaves camp
at 8 a. m. with two days' cooked rations. The First Sergts. now have to
look after the rations, baggage, cooking utensils, etc. This is too much
care. Some of the Companies have a non-commissioned officer and four
or five men, whose especial business it is to see to these matters, detailed
by the First Sergt. and reporting to him. Royal B. Prescott appointed
Hospital Steward ; and receives $30 per month for doing work enough
for two men. He is overworked, and would break down if he had not an
exceedingly strong physique ; his endurance is wonderful.

Nov. 24. Mon. Very cold. " Water freezes solid in more than a
hundred canteens," as the men carry them at their side while on picket.
A body of Union horsemen, coming in from a scout, create a pretty little
scare in the night. One timid youth declares that he can see " three
species of cavalry," and the phrase becomes a by-word. Virginia weather,
and mud, is responsible for nine tenths of the profanity in the army.
One man in the Thirteenth has suddenly given up the use of profane
language ; declaring that " no hard words can possibly do the weather
and mud here any degree of justice, and he is tired of trying."

Nov. 25. Tues. Cold, raw, rainy. The Band again meets the Reg.
a short distance out, and escorts it to camp. Reg. returns from picket
about noon, and is soon set at work upon the camp ; this is too much
labor and exposure after a long march, and the men very tired and wet —
it is abominable cruelty and foolishness. Many men are made sick by
this needless job. There is much hard talk, and mutiny is threatened.

26 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 18G2

Nov. 26. Wed. Cold. Reg. drilling all day. Capt. Stoodley is
taken down with jaundice, aggravated by the extreme fatigue, exposure
and labor of the last three days, including yesterday's useless work on the
camp. Many more men than usual require medical treatment this morn-
ing. Raised flour bread, from the bakery at Alexandria, sometimes
comes hot to our camj), and welcome.

Nov. 27. Thurs. Thanksgiving Day. Reg. at work until 10 a. m.,
also have a Dress-parade about sundown ; all the rest of the day is ob-
served as a holiday. Many boxes, filled with good things, are received
from home, and the officers and men enjoy themselves generally. Somo
of the men have no home, nor friends, to receive boxes from, and those
more fortunate share with them liberally. Capt. Julian entertains, roy-
ally, Capt. Rollins, and friends, of the 2d N. H. V., now on their way to
Washington from the front.

Nov. 28. Fri. Warm. Reg. driUing, and at work on camp. The
stragglers' camp is about one mile distant, of men unfit for duty, but not
sick enough for hospital treatment : " Like a dress too clean to wash, but
too dirty to wear," as one soldier of the 13th wTites. Another writes :
" Many men are sick with fowlness of the stomach."

Nov. 29. Sat. Reg. drilling. The most intelligent men give the
least trouble. As one soldier puts it, Sergt. Batchellor of D. '• The grum-
blers in the army are chiefly those who never see the inside of a book
or of a paper."

Down at Fredericksburg Gen. Lee, his army 80,000 strong, is en-
trenching on " Marye's Heights," and along the Rappahannock, undis-
turbed ; and Gen. Burnside jirepares unwillingly to cross the river. A
battle is to be fought because of political necessity, and after various de-
lays have stolen away the promise of success. " Public feeling demands
a movement ; " and the public that entertains that feeling has not enlisted.

Nov. 30. Sun. Pleasant. Orders are received to be ready to
march to-morrow at noon ; in heavy marching order, with shelter tents,
and two days' cooked rations in haversacks, and five in teams. All is
now bustle and hurry. There are tents after tents as far as the eye can
see in any direction ; the whole camp, thousands of men, are like oui"^
selves, preparing to move. Many of our men are still very sick. Capt.
Stoodley, and several other members of the Regiment are dangerously
ill. They are to be sent to Washington. There is a sudden weeding
out, and several men are discharged the service. The first, and new,
shelter tents issued to the Reg. There is no Sunday in the army. Col.
Dexter R. Wright's 1st Brigade of Casey's Division, for the march to-
morrow, consists of the 15th Conn., 13th N. H., 12th R. L, 25th and 27th
N. J. Regts. We march under sealed orders, and take 100 rounds of ball
cartridge per man. The men have been expecting to remain here during
the winter, have taken much pains to fit up their quarters, and have been
at no little expense besides, and do not at all relish a move ; " all their
fixings and expense to be left here free gratis for nothing," as they put

1862 CAMP CASEY. 27

it, for the benefit of some one else to them unknown. On the other
hand they are very desirous to take a strong hand in 2)utting an end to
the war, and their patriotism and devotion to the cause of the Union out-
weigh all other considerations. The camp resounds to-night with hymns
and patriotic songs. Notwithstanding the fact that the Thirteenth are
raw troops, and have been put into rough military service at once as if
they were hardened veterans, and allowed little rest for many weeks, still
in the main they have borne and endured their labors and exposures
cheerfully and admirably ; relieving it all by the sjwrt, play and merry-
making common to a camp of young men and boys.

Some person of genius invented a steel vest warranted proof against
minie bullets at short range. Hundreds of officers and soldiers have pur-
chased them and worn them until reaching the front, and a few days
longer ; but generally with the result indicated by the following remark
made in a letter by a member of the Thirteenth : '' The soldiers, both
of our own regiment and of others, throw away their steel vests, and one
can pick up any quantity of them about the camp — too heavy to carry."

MARCH TO FREDERICKSBURG.

Dec. 1. Mon. A warmish day of drizzling rain. The Thirteenth
breaks camp at 12 noon, gets fairly in line about 2 p. m., and with the
First Brigade marches to Washington over the Long Bridge, and on be-
yond the Capitol, across the Eastern Branch of the Potomac into Mary-
land, and bivouacs about 7 p. m. in a field near the village of Uniontown, six
miles below Washington, after a march of about fifteen miles from Fairfax
Seminary. Many who attempt to march are so sick that they have to
give up their arms and baggage to the teams, and follow as best they
may, and others weaker still halt along the way.

The writer and three or four other men give up their arms and knap-
sacks on Long Bridge. On reaching Capitol Hill in Washington about
6 -p. m. they are obliged to stop, from sheer exhaustion. They sit down
and lean against the trees and fences, feeling forlorn enough, and are
taken up by the ambulance about 9 p. m. All of us have been sick for a
number of weeks, and as it happened all had been offered their discharge
from the service that very morning, and had refused to accept it ; and the
ambulance is turned into a debating hall, the question being whether to go
ahead or to give up. But the " Ayes " have it, and we decide to go ahead.
The writer and one other man were of the Thirteenth, the rest were from
other regiments; and one was a pale, thin, but j^lucky little stripling ap-
parently not eighteen years of age. On reaching the camp the writer is
invited to turn in, under a large tent, with the non-commissioned staff of
the 13th — the tent crowded full. During the night his bedfellows, being
too warm, throw off their blankets upon him, and when he wakes in the
morning he is in a proper condition to be run through a wringing ma-
chine. But the sweating does more effective service against the chills
than a peck of quinine.

28 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

The Regiment marches under many disadvantages. Teams are not to
be had in sufficient numbers, many stores purchased with the hospital
fund, and much needed, have to be left behind, and the men have only
what they can carry with them upon their persons. The sick in Hospital
and a number of half sick men belonging to the Thirteenth, and to the
rest of the First Brigade, 283 in number, are left behind at Camp Casey
in charge of Dr. Twitchell and Quarter-master Cheney, the latter having
chai'ge of the property of the Brigade which is left behind.

Dec. 2. Tues. Very fine day. Reg. continues its march at 8 a. m.,
dow'n into Maryhmd. At Surgeon's call a number of sick men are sent
back to Washington. The writer, and others of the sick, who can go
ahead, are allowed to march as they please, and wliere they please ; only
required, if possible, to keep with the brigade. Our Brigade bivouacs
at 6 p. m. on the south side of a large hill, four tliousand men on a few
acres, and very much crowded together. Distance to-day fifteen miles.
We are one mile from Piscataway. The roads are magnificent, the coun-
try rich, with pigs, chickens, and other small ' fruits ' in plenty.

Dec. 3. Wed. Pleasant, cool. Reg. marches at 10 a. m. and
passes Piscataway. We pass Ft. Washington (or Foote) and the men
strain their eyes to catch a glimpse of Mount Vernon, said to be in view.
The men are heavily loaded with guns, knapsacks, blankets, rations,
cooking utensils, shelter tents, and a multitude of things which more ex-
perienced soldiers never carry — a heavy marching order indeed. Off they
go, however, this morning, half the Thirteenth and as many more men
from the 12th Rhode Island, in a wild chase after a large lot of pigs,
lambs, hens, turkeys, etc., and they do not come empty away. We have
a rush to-day with the 12th R. I. and 89th N. Y. Regts. They were in
rear of the loth yesterday, and pressed us hard, calling us the " New
Hampshire babies," and other petty names. To-day we get in their
rear, and march straight through the most of them, pushing them as hard
as we can, and taking advantage of all their short halts to rush on past
them, and leave them straggling all along the roadside. Distance to-day
called twenty miles. We encamp to-night about 5 p. m. in an oak grove,
six miles northerly of Port Tobacco. Several men have an excellent din-
ner at a farmhouse for six cents each. The host remarking, when they
paid their scot: " 'Boutther cost on 't, er'ekn."

Dec. 4. Thurs. Very fine day. Reg. marches about 9.30 a. m.
Our camp last night was a pell-mell huddle, as usual. Plenty of wood,
and rail fences feed a thousand fires. An army encamped at night is
a fine spectacle. The 13th were close on the roadside, and until very
late at night sti*agglers kept coming in ; and when any one inquired for
the camp of the 12th R. I. or of the 89th N. Y. they were invariably
directed wrong — a touch of soldier's fun. Many of the men this morn-
ing practice with their rifles on the numerous gray squirrels in the grove.
A man of Co. E brings down two from the top of one of the tallest trees.
To-day we march about twelve miles, and encamp at 5 p. m. at a place

1862 MARCH TO FREDERICKSBURG. 29

called Cedar Hill on Robert Ferguson's farm ; but on abominable
ground, low, wet and muddy, six miles west of Port Tobacco, which
tumble-down j^bice we passed about noon. The citizens are not all
friendly, if any are. The writer and Lieut. Carter went a little out of
the way, to-day, at Port Tobacco, to see the town, and interview a few
of the natives whom we saw lounging about. They were so uncomfort-
able and surly, however, we left them to their meditations.

About midforenoon, the writer, Lieut. Carter, and several men struck
across a field to avoid marching around a bend in the road, and as we
came out near a house by the roadside, and ahead of the Brigade — a
house that we had no notion of approaching, excepting as the path we
followed led close by it — two bullets whistled past our heads, and
struck the house with a loud noise. Turning quickly we saw, on a hill,
some five or six hundred yards distant, three men with guns, and
with them two or three women. The house was closed, and the fool-
ish inmates had retreated to the field. We passed on without receiving
any more of their cowardly compliments, while a squad of cavalry was
seen taking them in hand.

Dec. 5. Fri. Morning cold and cloudy. Reg. marches at 8 a. m.
Shelter tents have been scarcely unrolled during the very pleasant
weather we have had since we left Camp Casey. The boys have in-
dulged in any amount of fun ; and many a camp song, and especially
My Maryland, afterwards had this refrain :

" 0 how the pig's and chickens suffered ;
When we marched — down — thar ! "

Tobacco too, tons of it, hanging in the barns to dry, is made use of lib-
erally, " for fear it may spoil." Little or no wanton mischief has been
done. The soldiers care for little besides something nice and fresh to
eat, and they obtain at farmhouses a great many things by purchase.
But there is one black sheep, at least, in every flock. To-day, however,
ends all the enjoyment to be had in our march through Maryland. Half
the route has been through forests of pine and oak ; and " Maryland,
my Maryland," has been sung a thousand times, making the woods ring,
and ring again. Five or ten thousand soldiers singing together yield a
tremendous volume of sound. The whole body on this march numbers
about fifteen thousand men. At 11 a. m. a severe storm of rain sets in,
and under the tramp of the soldiers' feet, the clayey roads soon become a
succession of hillocks and quagmires. A number of men are badly
ruptured by slipping on the wet ground. At 2 p. m. the Reg. is halted,
in a grove, about two miles from Liverpool Point, " Blue Bank," and
preparations are made for the night. Soon after the Reg. is halted,
the rain turns to snow. The shelter tents afford but little protection
against the driving storm. All the neighboring barns, stables, houses,
etc., are turned into temporary barracks.

Albion J. Jenness, Company E, 13th, writes home, grimly, of to-day :

30 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 18G2

" "We went into the woods to camp, on the afternoon of Dec. 5th, and built
large fires ; beside which we soon got dry — as it began to snow instead
of rain." Another writes : " The rain commenced in the morning of
Friday, rained until 2 p. m., then turned to snow, and near morning of
Saturday cleared very cold."

The writer, and about a dozen other half-sick men, not daring to
sleep in tents, after tlie Reg. encamps push on through the snow a mile

or two, and liire lodgings at the house of Mr. Childs, near the bank

of the Potomac, and enjoy an excellent supper, night's rest, and breakfast
in the huge kitchen, where a great, roaring fire is kept burning all night
on the ample hearth. There had been trouble here during the day, Dec.
5th, between Mr. Childs's family and some soldiers of a New Jersey
Regiment — they of the white leggings, they said — and we mount guard
over the family and premises all night. The most the guard has to do,
however, is to keep the fire burning, for which purpose one man of the
party is awake, a fire guard, gun in hand, and with a bayonet for poker.
The night is very cold. The trouble of the day came of a dispute be-
tween the " bummers " from the N, J. Regt. and Miss Childs. As near
as we could learn, they attempted to burglarize the house, or something
of the sort, when Miss Childs, a spare, tall, lithe, spirited lady of per-
haps eighteen summers, seized a shot gun and fired upon them. They
caught her and took away the gun. There was a fierce struggle, in
which nearly all her clothing was torn off, leaving scarcely anything
upon her but her dress waist, stockings and slippers. She broke away,
and in this light running costume, ran through the snow, rain and freez-
ing air half a mile to a neighbor's house ; some of the bummers following
and trying to catch her, but they could as easily have run down a deer.
She escaped with no further harm than a few slight scratches and bruises.
This occurred but a few hours before we reached the house. The bum-
mers, smarting with the well deserved dose of small shot from the young
lady's gun, had threatened to return, and Mr. Childs, when we arrived,
was preparing to set out for Hdqrs. to procure a guard. We could serve
as well, having ten guns, and ammunition for them, and he accepted our
offer to protect the house. On the morning of Dec. 6th, we are let off
scot free, with the blessing of Mr. and Miss Childs. She is remarkably
pretty, and beauty lends a special grace to any young lady's blessing.
The cook was set at work early, and each man of our party, on leaving
the house to rejoin the Reg., now waiting down on the river bank to
cross, is presented by Miss Childs with a fine large " hoe cake," cooked
in Virginia's best style, with : " Here, please take these, and may God
bless you." The family were not Secessionists.

At one house where we applied for lodgings, we saw a few young
slaves, two of them girls twelve or fifteen years old, sweejjing snow off the
piazza and steps. They had on scarcely clothing enough to cover their
nakedness, and were barefooted. We remonstrated with the man of the
house in reference to such treatment. He said : " It did n't hurt 'um

1862 MARCH TO FREDERICKSBURG. 31

any, they had n't got their winter clo'se yit, he wiir n't treaten 'um hard ;
and besides, he loved them as well as he did his own children." They
were light mulattoes — and we told him we believed all he said, and
passed on.

" Hosp. Steward Prescott, Charles W. Green of B, Henry Howard of
E, Manson S. Brown of C, and Robert Rand of K, also went to a farm-
house about dark and procured lodgings. The farmer had six very fat hogs,
in a pen a little distance from the house, besides other stealable property
near by, and wanted a guard. The party were received by the farmer,
who dragged in feather beds and sjjread them upon the floor of his best
room, and built a large fire, for his lodgers. They wanted him to drive
his hogs up nearer to the house, but he said they were too fat to drive,
and they were left in the pen where they were. The lodgers were to
stand guard for two hours each, during the night, upon the piazza of the
house, having the pen in view. All went well until Green came on at
the third watch. He stood for a while, when utterly overcome by weari-
ness he laid aside his gun, came in, threw himself upon the feather bed,
and soon was sound asleep. Very early in the morning the whole party
were roused by a furious storm of profanity in an adjoining room. It
was from the farmer. While the guard slept the wearers of the white
leggings had rapped every hog on the head, and carried them all off ;
not a stpxeal or a bristle left." Prescott.

Dec. 6. Sat. Very cold. Six inches of snow on a level. Army
shoes are poor things excepting upon dry ground. The snow partly dis-
appears in a i)lenty of mud made by yesterday's rain. The ground being
but little frozen, the slushy mixture is knee deep, and scolded about
enough, as it fills up, or pulls off, the men's shoes. The Reg. marches
at 10 a. m., plunging through the snow and mud, and reaches the Poto-
mac, at Liverpool Point, at 11.30 a. m.. after a march of about two miles.
Here we have to stand in the slush, exposed to a strong down-river wind,
the cold increasing all the while, until near sunset, nearly seven hours,
waiting for transportation. Only one regiment can cross at a time, and
we are the fourth one in our Brigade to go on board. We go on board
the steamer about 6 p. m. Here on the boat we are packed and crammed
for over two hours ; some are almost roasted, and others, exposed to the
sharp north wind, are neax'ly frozen, while crossing the river, a distance
of about five miles. The wind grows very severe, and the temjierature
falls below zero. We debark at Aquia Creek at 8.30 p. m., stand about
on the wharf a while, with no protection from either wind or cold, then
march about two miles inland, and bivouac at 10 p. m. just below the
railroad on a rough hillside falling to a ravine, among some fallen timber,
and in six inches of snow. A part of the Reg. crowd into some old rebel
barracks with the roofs off. The Reg. is not fairly settled before mid-
night. It is a clear, starry, moonlit night, and exceeding cold. The
field and staff officers of the Reg. have neither tents nor blankets, mess-
chest nor eatables ; all these having been left across the Potomac to follow

32 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

in the nest steamer, wliich is late, and cannot land on account of the ice.
Some of the field and line officers '' bunk down " with the men, who
have shelter tents, while others tramjj, thrash their hands, whistle and
scold around the fires all night long. This is the toughest bivouac the
Thirteenth ever experiences in all its history.

Just as the 13th approaches the wharf to cross the river, a black boy,
about 20 years old, apj^ears and wants to cross to Virginia, and so escape
from slavery. He is provided with a suit of Uncle Sam's army uniform,
and a gun, by the men of Co. E, dons these honors in a moment, enters
the ranks, and passes to freedom unchallenged. He is at once employed
as a servant by Capt. Julian ; and a more honest, faithful, true and desir-
able servant, no man ever had. than this same Charley Bush.

He remained with the Regiment, in Captain Julian's employ for about
a year, and then enlisted as a Sergeant of (colored) cavalry. On many
occasions he held their watches and large sums of their money, when 'the
officers of the Reg. went on picket or reconnaissance. He learned to read
and write very soon after joining his fortunes with the Thirteenth, with
the members of which he was a universal favorite.

A squad of four men — Hosp. Steward R. B. Prescott, Privates Chas.
W. Green of B, Henry C. Howard of E, and Robert Rand of K — are
left behind on the Maryland shore, to guard the regimental baggage, and
suffer extremely from the cold. There are but three matches in the pos-
session of the party. Two of these are lighted only to be blown out by
the wind ; if the third fails the party will freeze. By using the utmost
care they succeed in kindling a small fire, which they keep burning, as
there is no wood on the bare plain, only by means of leaves and twigs
found by scraping away the snow. Over this wretched little fire they
huddle together all night, in the vain endeavor to keep warm. 'T is next
to impossible to sleep, even if it be not suicide to allow sleeping at all.
And so they brave the night out ; while the water in the canteens at their
sides freezes to solid ice. The intense cold causes them to crowd so close
to the fire that the clothing and blankets of all are burned and Pres-
cott's boots are ruined. ••''

Dec. 7. Sun. Very cold, clear. Fires roast one side of us Avhile the
other side freezes. AVe present a sorry spectacle this mornmg. Blan-
kets that we slept on last night are frozen fast to the snow, and many of
them are torn while being detached from it. We remain here all day,
fix up tents, build fires, munch our half frozen food, and suffer generally.
Many of the men are frost-bitten, many are utterly used up. The Poto-
mac is frozen over so far out, that steamers cannot land until the ice is
broken. To test its strength, an old horse is driven out, and walks a
long distance on the ice before he goes down. An experiment very in-
teresting to the horse ! The snow scarcely melts any. Some of the Reg.
are encamped among fallen timber, some in tlie woods, and some in log
huts used by the Confederates last winter. One man of the 13th writes
home : " Mail came this morning. Twenty (20) of us slept last night in

1862

MARCH TO FREDERICKSBURG. 33

an old rebel barrack with the roof taken off, a box about twenty feet
square. We had a fire in the middle of the room, and also one at each
end. They say we have burned up twenty-five miles of rail fence smce
we left AVashington."

Quarter-master Cheney was left at Camp Casey, in charge of 283
men, from all the regiments in our Brigade, who were unable to march
because of illness. Surgeon Twitchell was also left at Camp Casey in
care of the sick in Hospital. Lieut. W. H. H. Young was left there sick ;
but on Dec. 5th he was- put in command of these 283 men. All were
placed on board a steam-tug, and a scow in tow, at Alexandria, and they
join the Reg. to-day at Aquia Creek. The care of this large number of
half sick men, when sick himself, so prostrated Lieut. Young that he was
unfit for duty for several weeks.

The Confederates evacuated Aquia Creek about three weeks ago, de-
stroying everything wliich they could not take with them.

Lieut. Col. Bowers, in the absence of his mess-chest, revives his ex-
periences in the Mexican war — though he cannot bring those torrid days
into this polar atmosphere — by planting himself in front of a fire, and,
like a warrior of old, roasting a piece of meat on the point of his sword.

Dec. 8. Mon. Very cold a. m., noon warmer. Huge fires are roar-
ing on every hand, and their smoke fills the land. We thaw out suffi-
ciently to eat a poor breakfast. Civilians can have no idea how inexpres-
sibly good to the soldier hot coffee is, on such a morning. Coffee made
very strong, sweetened a little with pale brown ' army ' sugar, well stirred
in with an icicle, which settles it, is a drink fit for the gods and top roy-
alty. The Reg. receives calls from members of the 6th, 9th, 11th, and
12th N. H. encamped near by. To-night we have another cold bivouac,
though less severe than on the 6th and 7th, and the men have learned to
make better use of their shelter tents. The writer and two other men
have enjoyed a chateau, made on a sharp hillside by throwing a shelter
tent and a few armfuls of pine brush over a fallen pine tree resting se-
curely on a stump, raising it three or four feet from the ground. This tree
serves for eight or ten men, who are tucked under it from one end to the
other. All soi'ts of curious and ingenious " coops " are found on every
hand ; anything is welcome that protects us from the arctic weather.
. The field and staff officers' baggage, tents, blankets, mess-chest, eat-
ables, etc., have waited transportation across the river for nearly two
days. Up to this time these officers have had only such blankets and
other cover as they could borrow, and have spent two nights in such poor,
improvised coops as they could make or get made for them.

All these severities, however, have scenes of relief. Among these are
overcoated men in war traps and costumes crouched down and watching
the hundreds of little pint and quart tin pots of coffee boiling around the
camp fires ; each pot with a green stick laid across it, to prevent its boil-
ing over, the steam curling white and gracefully up alongside the darker
smoke of the fires, and the delicious coffee aroma speeding abroad on
every side over camp and snow.

34 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

' Then, too there is Picture No. 20, in this Aquia Creek gallery : A
number of cold, hungry and thirsty officers of the 13th gather around a
mess-chest, arrived not long since from across the river — open, bur-
glarized, empty. Attitudes, gestures, remarks, plans for detecting the
fellows.' Pi(tture No. 21. 'A cosy nook deep under the river bank
among dense trees, half a mile from camp. A fire. Three or four pri-
vate soldiers taking a very private lunch, and something stimulating. At-
titudes, gestures, remarks ('t other kind), plans to avoid detection.'

(After nearly twenty-five years, these two pictures are described to
the writer by a man who helped enjoy the lunch under the river bank.)

Dec. 9. Tues. Warmer. Snow disappearing. Reg. marches from
Aquia Creek, with a large body of troojjs, at 2 p. m., and after a tramp
of six miles or so, straight away for Falmouth, Stafford Heights, across
fields and through brush, a rough march, we halt for bivouac about 7
p. m. on fair ground, in a pine grove near Brooks Station, and really
pass a comfortable night ; the first comfortable sleep we have had since
the night of Dec. 3d, in those Maryland oaks. Our march here from
Camp Casey, near Fairfax Seminary, has occupied seven days, marching
time, and is estimated at 70 miles, with the few miles from here to Fred-
ericksburg to be marched to-morrow. Col. "Wright's provisional Brigade
is broken up, and its regiments assigned to other Brigades.

Dec. 10. Wed. Pleasant, warm, hazy. Reg. starts about 10 a. m.,
and after a march of nearly six miles halts, a little past noon, near and
northeast of the Phillips House, the Hdqrs. of Gen. Sumner, and bivouacs
among thousands upon thousands of troops quite closely massed. There
are a hundred thousand men within a short distance of us to-night. We
now become a part of the Army of the Potomac.

The 13th is assigned to the 1st Brigade, 3d Division, 9th Army Corps,
in Gen. Sumner's " Right Grand Division " of the Army of the Poto-
mac, organized as follows :

Army of the Potomac, comd. by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside.
Right Grand Division, comd. by Maj. Gen. E. V. Sumner.
Ninth Army Corps, comd. by Maj. Gen. O. B. Wilcox.
Third Division, comd. by Brig. Gen. Geo. W. Getty.

First Brigade, comd. by Col. Rush C. Hawkins (9th N. Y.).
10th N. H., " Col. M. T. Donohoe.
13th N. H., Col. Aaron F. Stevens.
2.5th N. J., Col. Andrew Derrom.

9th N. Y., (Hawkins' Zouaves), Lt. Col. Edgar A. Kimball.
89th N. Y., Col. H. S. Fairchild.
103d N. Y., Col. Benj. Ringold.

Second Brigade, comd. by Col. Edward Harland.
8th Conn., Maj. John E. Ward.

1862 MARCH TO FREDERICKSBURG. 35

lltli Conn., Col. Griffin A. Stedman.

15th Conn., Lt. Col. Samuel ToUes.

16th Conn., Capt. Chas. L. Upham.

21st Conn., Col. Arthur H. Button.

4th R. I., Lt. Col. Jos. R. Curtis.

The 1st Brigade, Hawkins', was organized of four Regiments at Pleas-
ant Valley, Md., early in October, and arrived here Nov. 19th. We go
in, with the 25th N. J., as new members of the Brigade family.

Thus organized we ai*e a large Brigade, and great expectations are
indulged in because of the special reputation of Col. Hawkins, and of
his famous Zouaves, now commanded by gallant Lt. Col. Kimball.

About 9 p. m. the Reg. is ordered to have three days' rations in haver-
sacks, and to take 60 rounds of ammunition. Some companies have 80
rounds. We are warriors now in full feathers and trappings : ten pounds
of gun, eighty rounds per man of ball cartridge, one pound of powder,
five pounds of lead, heavy equipments ; knapsack, haversack, three-pint
canteen, all full ; three days' rations ; rubber blanket, woolen blanket,
shelter tent, full winter clothing ; tin cup, tin plate, knife, fork, spoon,
spider, et cetera too numerous to mention, and too many to carry, and a
pound of mud on each shoe. We are a baggage train, freight train,
ammunition train, commissary train, gravel train, and a train-band, all
in one. Thus handicapped, we are soon to try conclusions with Massa
Lee, on his own chosen ground, the high ridges of which, scarcely two
miles distant from us, as the crow flies, are plainly visible from this
point in the daytime, and also the numerous rebel flags floating over the
distant hill-tops.

The day is spent in preparation ; oixlers are received to be ready to
move early to-morrow morning. Prayers are said on the principle of
" Trust in God, but keejj your powder dry ; " and late at night we
bivouac, sleep on the ground, in a long shoal ravine, arms at hand, amid
multitude of little smouldeinng cofEee-fires, and in an atmosphere half
fog, half smoke, another and larger part, big with terrors undefined
— the eve before a battle. A part of the force near us to the northward
are in dense woods, but there are only a few scattered trees near the
Thirteenth.

II.

December 11, 1862, to February 8, 1863.
BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG.

Dec. 11. Thurs. Cool, misty, foggy, damp ; sunny and warmish at
noon ; cold, chilling at morning and night. The day ojiens with the dis-
tant but sharp blows of two Confederate cannon, signal guns located
apparently away to our front and left, at five o'clock (5 a. m.), showing
that the enemy is on the alert. These guns are fired by the Washington
Artillery on Marye's Heights. It is at very early daylight ; our whole
camp, however, is already astir and a few little fires are burning, and we
can never forget the peculiar expression that comes over the faces of both
officers and men at the startling, warning, defiant sounds of those two
rebel guns. They might be compared aptly with the first short, sharp
barks of a disturbed watch-dog. The expression is that of surprise.
They are soon known to us all to be rebel guns, and the men near us
commence joking about that kind of a rising bell. Some think they are
the signal of a commencing battle, others do not understand them at all ;
no firing follows immediately, and they soon pass out of mind.

The whole scene and surroundings on all hands wear an air very ro-
mantic and theatrical, shading down the awful grimness of war, and
making its affairs an interesting study for the impressionable and active.
War is an immense school, in more senses than one, to the man who lives
in it and keeps his faculties alive also.

The Thirteenth, with our Brigade, early moves into a deeper ravine
than the one of our last night's bivouac, or ratber on the slope of one in
front of woods, and about one fourth of a mile to the northward of the
Phillil^s House ; and the whole immediate force, after having been
massed by divisions, is there formed in order of battle about 8.30 a. m.,
and remains under arms all the day. We are within a mile of our
cannon on the bluffs, the river, and the city of Fredericksburg.

Soon there is heard upon our right much heavy and continuous firing,
musketry and artillery, while nearly two hundred heavy guns mounted
in line along Stafford Heights — the high bank of the river opposite and
overlooking the city — with an increasing and terrific roar, from 7 a. m.
until 1 p. m., pour shot and shell by the thousand directly down into
Fredericksburg, and high over it upon the hills beyond, where swarm the
gray hosts of Gen. Lee's army. We can hear the buildings crash under
the awful storm of iron and lead ; and are near enough to hear the dis-
charge of almost every cannon fired by the two armies, and the crack of

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 37

numberless shells niarkhig the sky with hundreds of angry flashes and
little ball-like clouds of smoke. Many of the enemy's shells come over
far enough to burst near our infantry lines. We are new troojjs, and
have stepped at once from the field of story, out upon the edge, and in
full view, of an actual battle in actual war, and that war the most terrible
of modern times. For above an hour, from about ten to eleven o'clock
in the forenoon, the noise is deafening, the city being battered by the
whole fire of the National cannon ; the shots frequently counting as high
as one hundred per minute, and numbei'ing several thousands in all.
Over and over again we try to count the cannon-shots, but always failing,
as they mingle in a roar. From the long line of guns on the bluffs op-
posite the city, from the numberless shells, many of which we can see
bursting above the town, and from the burning city itself on our front, the
smoke goes up as from j^ai hundred furnaces. The firing continues until
about five o'clock in the afternoon, but the worst part of it is over by
one. We are waiting for the building of the ponton bridges, and the
news comes to us from time to time that the enemy is smashing the
bridges, as fast as they are laid, and shooting down the builders by scores.
Soon the rumor runs along that we are to be the next Brigade to attempt
that dangerous piece of work, but we do not move. It is for us a slow,
dragging, tedious, anxious day. We had a hurried breakfast, and now
we build our little coffee-fires and have our soldiers' dinner ; and again
repeat the bill of fare at supper, the air about us heavy, nauseous and
thick with the smoke of our fires, the smoke of the bui'ning city, and the
smoke of the tons of exploding gunjiowder.

Finally, after listening to th& ceaseless uproar all day long, about dark,
5 p. m., we fall in and march at a double-quick through the mud for about
a mile toward the city, then halt ; then retrace our steps to the place of
last night's bivouac, and where, for a wonder, our men had been relieved
of their heavy knapsacks this morning, and had piled them for future use
— by the survivors. We here expect to turn in, and some prepare for
bivouac, when at 6 p. m. and now quite dark, we are all suddenly called
into line again by the Long-roll. Soon, at 6.20 p. m., the long line of
our whole Brigade, defiUng to the left from our place of bivouac, and
leaving the Phillips House a little distance to our right as we pass it, and
marching by fours, by the right flank, moves in a dead silence slowly over
the hills where an hour or two before we had double-quicked, then on
down the steep river bank, and across the ponton bridge muffled with
earth and straw, and thrown across the river near the lower end of the
city, and one and a half miles southwest of the Phillips House as we
follow the crooked road, and we enter the battered, torn, crushed and
burning city, no one opposing. Many will recall the boilers, machinery
and other debris of burnt steamers and vessels lying in the river near this
ponton bridge as we cross. This ponton bridge is laid from the Wash-
ington Farm to the old steamboat and ferry landing — the central jjonton
bridge. We cross with a slow route-step, every man cautioned to move

38 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 18G2

as quietly as possible, pass up a steep paved way, turn to the left down
the street, and about 8 p. m. deploy in line of battle along Caroline
street, also called Main street, and is the second street up from the river.
The third street is Princess Anne street, leading to Mr. Slaughter's house
and grounds. Guards are quickly stationed, and Companies E and B are
sent at once as pickets to the rear of the city and along Hazel Run. While
these pickets are taking their positions along Hazel Run, the " Taps " are
being sounded in the Union Army, and less loudly in the Confederate
Army also. With the exception of one or two men in each company who
had recently served as guards, the Thirteenth entered the city with un-
loaded muskets, and loaded them after halting in Caroline street ; and
about 9 p. m., after standing there a long time in line of battle under
arms, the Thirteenth stacks arms along the west side of Caroline street,
and bivouacs on the west sidewalk, the side towards the enemy. Other
troops similarly occupy the east side. The night is very dark, the streets
are tilled with the debris of the shattered city and clouds of smoke from
the burning buildings, while bummers turn to forbidden jDillage. Many
houses are entered, blinds closed, fires kindled in stoves and fireplaces,
and hot coffee is drank, in the proud, deserted halls of the F. F. Vs., to
our own comfort and to the good health of the house-owners — just now
absent because of Gen. Burnside's cast-iron hail-storm. The city seems
much like a city in the early hours of the morning before the inhabitants
are astir. Joseph W. Dickerman of C writes home from Fdsbg. : '' We
broke camp at 6.20 p. m., crossed the Rappahannock and marched into
the city at 8.30 p. m., with unloaded guns ; went to the main street, then
filed left down some twenty or thirty rods, halted on the right-hand side
of the street, and loaded quietly before stacking arms." Lieut. Staniels
wi'ites in his diary : " Marched up to Gen. Sumner's Hdqrs. at sunset,
then back to camp. Long-roll beat at six. Marched immediately for
Fredericksburg. Cross the ponton bridge at eight o'clock. Stack arms
and remain in the street over night." ^

The writer at this time is a First Sergeant. As we cross the city on
entering, there lies on the sidewalk as he fell, his gun still held in his
hand, a Confederate First Sergeant in a new, clean. Confederate dress
uniform, with the regulation chevrons and insignia on the sleeve. His
cap held by a loose throat-strap is still on his head, and merely tilted back
from a handsome forehead, which alone remains of the whole front part
of his head. He was probably instantly killed by a shell or shot, and lies
a ghastly object seen in the dim light of a distant fire. Sergt. Chas. F.
Chapman of E is the first to see him, and taking First Sergeant Charles
M. Kittredge of B and the writer by the arm, Chapman calls out : " Here
— see what you First Sergeants are all coming to ! " This was the first
body of a man killed in tlie war, that any of us had seen. As soon as

1 Tlie N. H. Adjt. General's Report, Vol. 2, for 1S(K5, pag:e TS5, states that the line
•was formed about !l o'clock, reaching- the ponton bridge at half past ten; much later
than the actual hour — a serious error.

18C2 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 39

the 13th is in the city, Companies B. Capt. Dodge, and E, Capt. Julian,
are hurried forward on picket ; and while taking their ground, near Hazel
Run, and on the Bowling Green road, several Confederates are seen skit-
tling off in the darkness, and a hunt is instituted among the old buildings
for more of them. Soon two of them are found in an old shed by some
of the men of Co. E. They raise their guns to fire and threaten to
thrash the whole Northern Army if they are molested ; but naturally
change their minds, as half a dozen loaded muskets are pointed in upon
them at the open door, and surrender. Thus Comjiany E has the honor
of making the first capture of prisoners for the 13th, and very plucky
fellows they were too.^ One of them, though not very badly wounded,
dies before morning of wounds, cold, and loss of blood, despite the best
care we can afford him. The other, his comrade, a noble fellow, re-
mained by him to defend him to the last. They both expected to be in-
stantly shot on capture — a common notion among the Confederate sol-
diers from the far South. These are Mississippians, Barksdale's men.
We have crossed the bridge built by the 8th Conn, and other regiments ;
the 7th Michigan having first crossed and dislodged the enemy's sharp-
shooters. We cross too from the old Washington plantation, whereon
(it may have been) was the garden wherein grew the cherry-tree, whereat
the boy, George, went with his little hatchet, whereabout he could not tell
a lie ; whereof we have all been told, and whereby we all have been,
morally, much benefited, of course. Our Brigade, Col. Hawkins, holds
the lower part of the city to-night. The enemy on departing piled a
dozen or two of his dead in a back yard near the position of the 13th
and off Caroline street ; they are terribly mutilated, all cut up and bat-
tered by bullets, shell, splinters, mortar and brick ; many of his dead are
also in cisterns and cellars.

With the exception of the special assaulting party, who crossed in boats,
and cleared the river bank of the enemy's troops, while the pontons were
being laid, our, Hawkins', Brigade are the first troops of the army to cross
the river. The assaulting party, excepting a few men of the 89t]i New
York, recrossed, leaving our Brigade to occupy the city ; and we hold the
lower end of it to-night, while troops of Gen. Howard's Division are com-
ing over and occujiying the upper end. Troops are moving all night.

To-night a negro woman occupying the small wooden house, around
which the upper brook bends where it first flows into the Bowling Green
road (thence following that road towards the river), is seen struggling
with a barrel of flour, trying to roll it into her small front door. The
door is hardly wide enough to receive the barrel, and the men of Com-
panies E and B help her to put the barrel into the house, and into a back
room serving as a store-room. They then go to a grocery store and fill
that back room solid with barrels of flour, groceries, etc. ; among the lot a
box of salt fish that Methuselah had when he first set up housekeeping —
at any rate it smelled old enough. Then, in return for their help, Dinah
1 N. H. Adjutant General's Report for 186G, Vol. 2, page 785.

40 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

goes to the brook in the street, gets a pail of water, and sets about cook-
ing griddle-cakes, of plain wheat flour and water, for the men who filled
her store-room. The reserve picket is near here, and Dinah is kept
busy cooking all night. The writer, and a good many others of the picket,
cannot decide to even try the cakes, but they are passed to others in
plenty, who eat them with their sugar. They are to-night f amiUarly called
" nigger heel-taps," and probably they merit so good a name.

To go back again to the morning of Dec. 11 : Gen. Burnside attempted
to lay the ponton bridge 02)posite the city, the central bridge, this morning
about 2 o'clock, but his men were shot down by the 17th and 18th Mis-
sissippi regiments of Gen. Barksdale's Confederate Brigade, who with the
8th Floi'ida were posted in the houses and buildings in the city which
were nearest the shore of the river. The rest of that Brigade, the 13th
and 21st Miss, and the 3d Georgia, were also in the city, in reserve. All
together a strong force of about three thousand men. The morning hav-
ing been spent in fruitless attempts to build the bridge, Gen. Burnside,
annoyed, and fretting under the delay, ordered his batteries to open on
the town, ho2:)ing thus to dislodge the enemy. The river hei'e is about
300 yards wide ; and mounted high on the bluffs across the river from
Fdsbg., at a distance of half a mile and less, 35 batteries, 179 guns, rang-
ing from 10 lb. Parrotts to 4^ inch siege-guns, opened at once upon the
city, about ten o'clock a. m. ; continuing their fire for more than an hour,
pouring from fifty to one hundred shots per minute directly down into the
city, and throwing from 7,000 to 9,000 shells in all, tearing, ripping, cut-
ting, through the buildings of the town. " Houses fell, timbers crashed,
dust rose, flames ascended." It was an hour of tremendous thunder, clang,
and racket ; guns, screams, howls, shells, crashes, echoes, throbs, blows,
roars, thunders, flashes, fire, all commingled — but the plucky Mississip-
pians would not budge an inch. Few soldiers ever before kept up such
a fire as they did amid such awful surroundings ; but out of the din and
danger, and the incessant crash and roar, among the buildings about them,
there steadily came the little puffs of smoke from their rifles, and their
unerring buUets against our men at work near the pontons, on our side
of the river.

If Fredericksburg ever raises a monument to anything, it should be a
fine one to the memory of these men of Gen. Barksdale's Mississippi
Brigade. The terrific bombardment did not dislodge them, and they de-
layed the pontonniers until 4 p. m., when the 7th Mich., 19th and 20th
Mass., of Hall's Brigade, and 89th N. Y., volunteered to cross in boats ;
which they did, the 7th Michigan leading, and seized the city at 4.30 p. m.,
clearing it of the Confederate troops ; where cannon, shells and rifles were
scarcely ])ersuasion. Northern bayonets proved an unanswerable argument.
Strange that so many of these men near the river survive the bombard-
ment, while their less fortunate fellows farther back in the city lie head-
less, armless, legless at every few steps. The city looks as if a huge shell
had burst on almost every square rod in all Fredericksburg.

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 41

Dec. 12. Fri. Foggy morning. Very pleasant day. Companies B
and E are relieved on picket by Companies C, Capt. Bradley, and G,
Lieut. Forbush ; Lieut. Wilson going upon the front line, Lieut. Forbush
commanding the reserve. The 13th is called at early daylight, and re-
mains on Caroline st. all day and night. The city streets are the front
lines of the army ; the rear line is along the river bank. There are two
lines (at least) of stacks of arms, ranged as far as we can see, all up and
down this and other parallel streets. The city is full of troops, chiefly
in bivouac on the sidewalks.

Before the occupation of the city by our troops, an immense quantity
of tobacco, in small oak boxes, had been sunk in the river, and our men
now fish it out and supply themselves without stint. The city is badly
shattered. One double, wooden house, near by the Thirteenth, has over
forty holes straight through it, made by shot and shell. A brick house
near by was struck in ninety places on the front. The citizens in depart-
ing took little with them besides clothing, food and valuables. The sol-
diers forage everywhere. Not an indiscriminate pillage, but a very free
helping of themselves. Stores are cleared out, but there is not much dis-
position either to destroy or remove anything from houses ; aside from a
rummaging, scattering and mixing up of things, many a family, on return-
ing to their homes, must find them about the same as when they left.

There is many a concert around a piano or organ. The writer is in
one fine parlor where the large piano has just been played by a soldier.
The player has scarcely arisen from his seat and stepjjed aside for a mo-
ment, when a solid cannon-ball from the enemy crashes through the
chimney near the fireplace, knocking the bricks and mortar about the
room ; and then taking the piano keyboard diagonally, flings the ivory
keys in a shower all about the room, and draws from the piano the most
infernal yelp that ever beset human ears — here above. We are covered
with dust, bits of plaster and brick, and make a prompt exit down into
the street, no one hurt.

The enemy sends no shells into the city, fearing to set it on fire, but a
great many solid shot, and chunks of railroad rails from one to two feet
in length. The latter rip and tear terrible gaps and holes through the
buildings, while the solid shot do but little damage. One solid shot strikes
a large stack of muskets, six or eight of them, fairly near their point of
union, and sends them ' kiting ' and walloping about, end over end, and
every way. It is worth going a long journey to see a deserted city occu-
pied by an army. No civilian to be seen, no woman, no child ; no person
looking from a window ; houses, buildings and stores wide open ; no
citizen going in, none coming out; stables and barns without an occu-
pant, even the dog-kennels and hen-houses are abandoned. Soldiers by
the thousand everywhere ; long lines of stacks of muskets ranged up and
down the streets ; infantry, cavalry, artillery, wagons, ambulances, pass-
ing continually.

The streets are not paved, and there is little noise save now and then

42 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

when a solid shot or a chunk of raUroad rail escapes from the peri3etual
growl, noise and smoke within the enemy's lines on the hill, rips through
a dozen buildings and drops upon the street or sidewalk. The balls whirl
around with great rapidity, like a top, when they first stop from their
flight, and if they have crashed through a few buildings, they are often
hot enough to set dry wood on fire. We examine them as new curiosi-
ties ; some are buried by the men, to be recovered after the war is over.

A few men entered an apothecary store. Whiskey was left in several
bottles in a very tempting way. Caution suggested a taste before a
draught ; it is all bitter with poison, or heavily drugged. Crash follows
crash. A bayonet run along a shelf tosses off a whole row of medicamen-
tum bottles ; the fragrance of rich perfumery fills the air, mingled with
smells beyond mention. The floor is flooded. Downstairs and upstairs
go the men ; and in ten minutes not a breakable thing or vessel in the
whole store remains unbroken. The poison in that whiskey cost a thou-
sand dollars an ounce, and was too cheap at that. The story is given as
it was heard at the time.

Early this morning there appears on the street a little white girl, three
to five years old, alone, and apparently not in the least disturbed by the
noise, the smoke, the thousands of soldiers, the rumbling cannon and
wagons, and the utterly changed condition of the streets where she had
been accustomed to walk and play. She runs along the sidewalk, tripping
over the men's blankets and knapsacks lying there, carefully avoids the
little fires in the gutter, and looks up at every doorway as if hunting for
some particular house. A thousand soldiers see her and are interested.
She speaks to none. Soon one stops her. She merely says : " I want to
find mamma," and passes on. That is her only answer to every inquiry.

DESCRIPTION OF PLAT.

A. National Cemetery. B. South wall of same.

C. Superintendent's lodge near where Marye's house stood.

D. New street, made since the battle, from town to Cemetery gate.

E. Telegraph road with stone bank-wall ; the stone of the wall is now

removed, and built into the Superintendent's lodge. The rebel
batteries were on Marye's Hill just west of this road.

F. Steep side of bluff up which the Thirteenth charged into field on

the top. G. Ditch running down to unfinished railroad.

H. Continuation of blufi'-side with lone oak tree and spring : * o.
I. Bank and ditches of unfinished railroad.

K. Richmond & Fredricksburg Railroad crossing Hazel Run, L.
M. Low, level field or meadow.

N. Thirteenth and Brigade formed for the assault. The arrow show-
ing nearly the direction of the assault.
P. Brick house, as near as can be located on the plat.
The distances are given in yards.

FREDERICKSBURG. — GEN. GETTY'S ASSAULT.
From a sketch, made by the writer in May 1885.

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 45

After a while an officer cares for the motherless child, and sends her to
a place of safety. A more touching little scene rarely occurs.

The remains of the city's destruction are piled and strewn on every
hand. Whole fronts of buildings have been torn out and smashed into
splinters. Furniture of all sorts is strewn along the streets. Houses are
ripped, battered and torn, windows smashed and chimneys thrown down.
Every namable household utensil or article of furniture, stoves, crockery
and glass-ware, pots, kettles and tins, are scattered, and smashed and
thrown everywhere, indoors and out, as if there had fallen a shower of
them in the midst of a mighty whirlwind.

To-night Hawkins' Zouaves go on picket to the front. Troops have
been pouring into the city for the last twenty-four hours, and to-night we
hear the ceaseless tramp, tramp, tramp, through the streets, of the regi-
ments of Sumner's Grand Division, the roll of wagon wheels, the rumble
of artillery and the tread of hundreds of horses.

The most of the men of the Thirteenth to-night occupy the houses near
their position in the street. The increasing tramping through the streets
all night long renders the sidewalks unfit for bivouac, preventing sleep,
and wearying the men too much for the hard service before them.

Dec. 13. Sat. Pleasant, but cool. Last night very cold, this morn-
ing foggy and dense, clearing bright about mid-forenoon. To-night it is
again cold. The 13th furnished details for picket on the night of Dec.
11, as we have said, when we first came into the city, and also for the
night of Dec. 12. Since then the Reg. has remained in the city, chiefly
along Caroline st., until this moriiing, and furnished only small detach-
ments for outside work. Early this morning the 13th, with the Bingade,
moves from Caroline st. to the river bank near the Gas Works, and just
below the ponton bridge which we crossed on the night of Dec. 11.
We reach our position on the river bank at eight o'clock.

To plat the scene, draw a north and south line along the city shore of
the river and stand upon it, a rod or two south of the Gas Works, and face
east. The river runs past you from left to right, that is southward. A part
of the 13th are lying about you on the grass at the south side of the Gas
Works, the colors of the Reg. are leaning against the south wall of the
building near the eastern end, the end towards the river, the color bearers
and guard are sitting near by, and perhaps a hundred men are near them.
The rest of the 13th are near about, preserving no particular order, some
on the grassy bank, some at the river's edge, some sitting on timber, or
standing on boards thrown down on the mud of the street and wharf ;
all making themselves as comfortable as the dirt and mud, the extremely
offensive Gas Works, and the clouds of gunpowder smoke will permit.

The rest of the Brigade are near by, and very similarly disposed. The
river bank shelves down to a muddy street and wharf all along. Here
we remain all day, doing nothing except to watch the constant fii-ing, or
to listen to the roar of battle behind us, west, along the front of Marye's
Hill, a mile away. (Pronounced Ma-ree.) One mile to your right,

46 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHHIE REGIMENT. 1862

south, is Gen. Franklin's ponton bridge, out of sight behind a high bank.
One eighth of a mile to your right Hazel Run falls into the river. Di-
rectly in front of you, east, and rising high above, across the river, here
300 yards wide, is a long bluff with one hundred or more Union cannon
mounted on it, and all in full play. Their shells go over you, and over
the city behind you, to Marye's Hill ; Marye's Hill replies ; and many a
shell from both sides bursts in sight ; the pieces splash in the river, beat
upon the banks, fly among the cannoneers on the bluff, or fall at your
own side, and bury themselves in the hard earth. Occasionally a man
near you, in the Brigade or Division, is struck, killed or wounded, and
a stretcher bears him away. The position is a nervous and a trying
one.

Three hundred yards to your left, north, is the central ponton bridge,
over which we crossed into the city. The road to this bridge winds
down the high, steep Falmouth bank of the river, through the Washington
Farm ; it is the first road you see on your left. Many soldiers come
across the river upon the bridge and go up into the city, through a lane,
one hundred feet farther to your left, north of the ponton landing on this
side. This lane leads from the old steamboat (now ferry) landing, up
into the city. It is provided with a high stone wall on each side, a stone
pavement, and is about 150 feet in length. Six hundred yards, or so, to
your left, north, is the bridge of the R. & F. R. R. A full mile to your
left, north, across the river is the Lacy House ; and a mile east of there
is the Phillips House.

Here, by the nasty Gas Works, we remain under arms all day. Our po-

DESCRIPTIOJi OF PLAT.

A. Marye's House with rebel batteries to the south of it.

B. Orange Turnpike. C. Plank road.

D. Telegraph road with stone bank-walls.

E. New street opened since the battle, and leading to Cemetery gate.

F. Bank and ditch of unfinished railroad.

G. Richmond and Fredericksburg Railroad.

H. Hazel Run. L. Oak tree with Spring near it.

I. Gen. Getty's Division formed for the assault.
K. K. Point near angle in Telegraph road, near which were the rebel
batteries A., aimed at by Gen. Getty's men in the assault, and
the little field, on the bluff, reached by the Thirteenth.

M. Brick house — as near as can be located.

N. Vicinity of Lee's HiU.

Gen. Getty told the writer that Gen. Hooker's corps was on the right of
the Ninth Corps — in which the 13th — and that the place where Gen.
Hooker exposed himself during the day was at the cut on the R. & F.
Railroad, just to the right of the place where Gen. Getty's Division
formed for the assault. This railroad cut was enfiladed by the rebel
batteries on Lee's Hill.

MARYE'S HEIGHTS, December 13, 1862.
From an old print seen by the writer in Fredericksburg in May 1886.

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 49

sition on the grassy bank, or on the ojien ground exposes us to the flying
pieces of many of the enemy's shells intended for the cannoneers of our
batteries on the Falmouth (or Staiford) bluffs, across the river, but bursting
short of their mark ; while many shells from our own guns, on those
very bluffs, bursting as soon as they leave the guns, pour their jagged pieces
down into the river, and upon the hither bank among our men. The
water in the river is in a constant state of disturbance made by them.
We are about one mile from the enemy's batteries, and within four or
six hundred yards, and directly under the muzzles, of our own guns, and
are thus exposed to the incessant fire of both. All day long the shells,
hundreds of them, pass to and fro over our heads. Many men in our
Brigade are wounded here by pieces of shells, and their lead rings.

Peter Smithwick, six feet seven inches in height, the tallest man in the
Thirteenth, is severely hurt, while here, by a piece of shell striking his
left arm near the shoulder. Many a man with such an ugly bruise,
would go to the rear, but he is made of better stuff. He coolly pockets
the piece of shell, a rough chunk of iron about the size of a hen's egg,
and goes through the battle, though his left arm is practically useless, and
is supported much of the time by his cross-belt. Two men are killed
and seven wounded here, in our Brigade, by the bursting of one shell, and
the men are ordered not to remain massed in dense bodies, but to spread
apart and find cover.

From a little hill a few rods from the 13th, westward, we can see the
rebel batteries, and lines of battle, and the contest of the day going on in
front of Marye's Heights, now wreathed, puffed, lined and festooned with
battle smoke, and wide to right and left a similar scene is in view. This
hill is near Mr. Slaughter's house, and has a steep bank and cut on one side,
which is altogether beyond the range of the enemy's rifles, being nearly
a mile distant from them, and, excepting for an occasional shell rushing
wide of its proper range, is as safe as any dooryard on a New England
farm, incomparably safer than the river bank, and a man might stand
here for forty hours unharmed ; so we can gaze at ease for the few min-
utes which Ave can spend away from the Regiment. Some of those pres-
ent say that tliey can count sixteen different points from which the enemy's
artillery fire proceeds, each point supplied with four or more guns.

For a part of the day the men of the 13th are obliged to stand in deep
mud, in an exceedingly dirty and wet street, and boards are wrenched off
the buildings near by to stand upon. At times from early morning till
night, we can distinctly hear the din of the battle on the hills west of the
city, while our own guns, firing over our heads, keep up a deafening roar,
— the sounds sweeping in fitfully, and in gusts, from all sides. As the
sounds of louder thunder come in from all around the sky during a vio-
lent storm, so amid the general rattle and growl come the sudden out-
bursts of musketry and artilleiy, as charge after charge is made by the
Union forces upon the enemy's lines along Marye's Heights, and else-
where, while mingling with the other noises, and topping them all, comes

50 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT, 1862

the regular boom and echo of one huge Confederate gun, which we hear
but cannot locate. The roar of the furious battle commences about 9
a. m., and continues all the day, until dusk.

So the terrible day wears away, a regiment of men wiped out, a thou-
sand men falling almost every hour, until a little after four p. m., when
the rumor runs tlu'ough our column here like wildfire, that Gen. Getty, with
only the two brigades of his Division, is to make a night assault on
Marye's Heights ; the most formidable position in the enemy's line, a
death-dealing semicircle ; and on that murderous stone bank-wall, upon
which all the assaults of the day have made no impression whatever ;
and just with the coming to us of that grim rumor, there falls a pause
in the rebel tiring.

We can scarcely give the rumor any credence whatever, and the move-
ment is roundly condemned on all hands as sheer folly ; but there soon
rings in our ears the sharp order: "Attention! " The men fall into line
along their stacks of muskets, in a stern, dead silence ; and soon again
follows an order : '' Take Arms. Right face — March ! "

The sun is now apparently less than half an hour high, and Lieut.
Gafney, pointing to its reddish disc just on the edge of the horizon, and
seen through the haze and battle smoke, remarks : " I wish I could get
up there and kicjv that thing down I " And the Thirteenth has no
braver officer than Lieut. Gafney.

DESCRIPTION OF MAP.

A. Rappahannock River. B. Maj. Lacey's house.

C. Orange Turnpike, passing the Phillips House.

D. Claiborne Run. F. Ponton Bridge, central.

E. Position near cut on the R. & F. R. R., where Gen. Getty's Di-

vision formed for the assax;lt.

G. City Gas Works, around which the Thirteenth remained all the day
Dec. 13, on the river bank. H. Hazel Run.

I. Caroline street (or Main st.), the second street from the river.

K. Princess Anne street ; leading to near Mr. Slaughter's house and
field, L. M. Marye's house.

N. Unfinished railroad crossed in the assault ; then mere bank and
muddy ditches. O. Union batteries on Stafford Heights.

P. Little hill, or bluff, up which the Thirteenth charged. The same
bluff-side continues down towards the city along near the unfin-
ished railroad. V. Canal. W. Bowling Green road.

Y. Point aimed at in the charge, as stated by Gen. Getty.

Z. Brick house, about 250 yards east of Marye's, and 150 to 200 yards
east of the stone wall on Telegraph road. This brick house was
seized by Gen. French's Division about noon, Dec. 13.

R. Telegraph road, with the stone bank-walls, and west of it the rebel
batteries and troops on Marye's Heights, the rebel position.

S. Rebel batteries towards Lee's Hill. T. National Cemetery.

FREDERICKSBUKG.

Tracing of Official Map. Scale, three inches to one mile.

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 53

The Thirteenth quickly takes its place in the column ; but we must say
that no one whom we know hankers after a twilight excursion to Marye's
Heights on this particular evening. We stand at a terrible disadvantage.
They have belched a world of fire, and shot, and shells, and buUets, al-
most continuously for these last two days ; and, within an hour, long
columns of the enemy's infantry have been seen by us running over the
slopes, and down into position in his front lines under the hill. However,
we are new troops, have been anxious for the last fifteen or twenty years,
on an average, to ' hear drums and see a battle,' and now our curiosity
is to be altogether satisfied. We move off quickly by the right flank, by
fours, along the street, landing and wharf, and tln-ough an abundance of
mud and water. The colors are between the left of Company E and the
right of Company C ; E being the Color-company.

Hospital Steward Prescott writes that the order, " Forward,'' was
passed to our First Brigade at half-past four o'clock. The prevailing
idea and feeling in Gen. Getty's Division is that our assault will be fruit-
less ; but it must be done, and soon the determination rises to do our
utmost to win, we desire to strike an effective blow, and we move toward
the front growing more and more confident and strong, from the hope we
have, that possibly we may now do what our troops have failed to do in
all of this day's fighting : break Lee's line at Marye's Hill, which would
be a most glorious accomplishment of some of the work for which we
volunteered.

To plat the place of our waiting all this long day, you stood on the
river bank just South of the Gas Works, and faced due east. Now face
about, due west, and follow the north bank of Hazel Run five sixths of a
mile, straight west, over ditch, ridge and level, and you will strike the
stone bank-wall on the Telegraph road, below Marye's Hill, near the
southeast corner of the present National Cemetery grounds. That south-
east corner is the point aimed at in this famous night assault of Gen.
Getty's Division. (Gen. Getty so informed the writer. May 1885.)
Around this corner of the Cemetery, the Telegraph road, now as then,
bends sharply from its southward course, and runs almost due west. The
corner is sharp, bluffy, steep, rough and abru])t, and was in a still more
forbidding condition, in 1862, before the National improvements were
made and the Cemetery was walled in. In coming up to this southeast
corner of Marye's Hill, from the Gas Works, you cross, first, the Bowl-
ing Green road, and afterwards many a ravine, ridge and brook. Sec-
ond, you cross the Richmond and Fredericksburg Railroad, where it has
high banks ; right here Gen. Getty's Division formed for the assault.
To your left, south, is the Hazel Run bridge. To your right, north, is a
deep cut on the railroad ; near which cut Gen. Hooker so long and so
gallantly bore himself, mounted on a large white horse, during this
battle that the Confederate commander, though not knowing who he was,
ordered his men not to fire upon him, but to capture him alive if they
could.

54 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIiMENT. 1802

In May 1885 the writer met accidentally, on a James River steamer,
Judge R. L. Henley of Williamsburg, Va., and while in conversation with
him, he remarked that during tlie battle a P'ederal officer frequently ap-
peared in this railroad cut, which was enfiladed by the batteries on Lee's
Hill, greatly exposing himself, and acted so bravely that the Confederate
commander gave an order to his riflemen not to shoot him, but to capture
him if they could. Tlie Confederates could not make out who this Union
officer was, and the Judge inquired of the writer if he knew. The writer
did not then know, but told Judge Henley that he was intending to call
on Gen. Getty in Washington and would inquire of him concerning the
matter. Gen. Getty, when the writer called on him, at his farm a few
miles out of Washington, and made the inquii-y, answered at once that
Gen. Hooker, mounted on a white horse, was riding in and out of that cut
on the railroad half the day during the battle of Dec. 13, and that he,
Getty, remonstrated with him for exposing himself so much, but Gen.
Hooker seemed to care little for the danger or for the remonstrance. This
is the writer's authority for the statement concerning Gen. Hooker.
Judge Henley served during the battle as a Captain in the 32d Virginia
Confederate regiment. Col. Edgar B. Montague commanding.

Third, a little farther west, you cross another railroad, then unfinished
and mere banks and ditches, but now completed and used. You cross
this new railroad bank, near a low, wet lot of ground, the swampiest
place on this railroad along here, and about 500 yai'ds from the Cemetery.
As you stand upon this new railroad, at the point marked I. on the map
on page 43 and near this low, swampy place ; to your right, north, is
a long bluff, running southwestwardly toward the Cemetery. On the
side of this bluff, about 100 yards northward from you, is a lone oak-tree,
and a spring of water called Cold Spring. On the top of the bluff, north
of the tree and spring, is a street, opened since the battle, running from
the city to near the Cemetery gate. A ditch makes down diagonally
from this street, from a point near the Cemetery to the new railroad.
We now approacli the scene of the assault. Along the southern slope of
this long bluff thousands of Union soldiers fell during Dec. 13 ; our night
assault was made to the left of nearly all of them. AVest of this diagonal
ditch, between you and the Cemetery, is a very steep bank, marked F. on
the same map as above, and is practically the southwest end of the bluff.
This bank rises northward some 20 or 30 feet to a little nearly level field,
not 200 yards square, lying close up to the Telegraph road, and directly
in front of Mai-ye's Hill. This road, and along it also the famous stone
bank-wall, bounds this little field for about 150 yards on its west side ;
the new street bounds its north side for neai-ly 200 yards ; the new rail-
road runs along south of it at a distance of about 50 yards ; while the
southeast side of the field falls upon the diagonal ditch, at a distance of
about 150 to 175 yards from the Telegraph road, the steep bank sweep-
ing around to that road near the southeast corner of Marye's Hill. There
is no better description for this little bluff and field than to call it a flat-

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 65

top hill. Up into this little field the First Brigade, Hawkins', of Gen.
Getty's Division attempted to rush alone in the night charge. The Sec-
ond Brigade, Harland's, was held in reserve near the R. &, F. Railroad
bank, a little north of Hazel Run. It was uj) the south side of this little
bluff that the Thirteenth charged, receiving the first volley of Confederate
musketry, most of the bullets flying overhead, and then continued on
under the storm of bullets coming from the rebels firing at will, and into
the little field on the top until ordered to lie down ; and lay there pro-
tected by the darkness, and little ridges of land, for apparently a full half
hour, and until the worst part of the rebel firing was over. How near to
the stone wall they came, will appear farther on. The land falls a little
all the way from the road to the bluff, consequently the rebels in the road
fire over our heads. The unfinished railroad runs southwestward along
near the foot of the bluff, at a wide angle from the R. & F. Railroad, to
near the southeast corner of Marye's Hill. The stone bank-wall then
standing along the west side of the little field into which the loth charged,
has been removed, and built into the Cemetery lodge, and the surface of
the little field furnished the clay for the bricks of the Cemetery wall.
It is no stretch to say that the red, in many a brave Union soldier's blood,
and of the Thirteenth too, has given its own color to those bricks.

The line of the advance and assault, after the R. & F. Railroad was
crossed, was practically along the edge of the southern side of the bluffs,
skirting the more level meadow or intervale that forms the north bank of
Hazel Run from the Bowling Green road to the southeast corner of the
Cemetery. The top of the bluff, and the meadow along Hazel Run, was
pi'obably swept by the fire of fifty Confederate cannon and ten thousand
muskets ; the side of the bluff alone could be made use of by an advan-
cing column.

Now go up on the terrace, at the southeast corner of the Cemetery,
reverse this present view, and look east, across the sunken Telegraph
road, down upon the little field — this flat-top hill — the level land be-
low it, and down along the bluff sides, and along the north bank of Hazel
Run ; and you will be ready to stake your reputation and best wits, that
no man, knowing the ground, could have sent two brigades, and held
back one of them in reserve, to assault this corner ; while fifteen or
twenty Confederate regiments, and several batteries, knowing every acre
of the ground, securely posted behind hill-top and ridge, in ravines and
rifle-pits, behind buildings, sunken roads and stone bank-walls, were all
ready and waiting to receive them. The Union Generals could not
have known and really did not know the extreme difficulties of this
assault.

The term flat-top hill is preferred to the word plateau because it seems
to more definitely describe the place. The plateau extends eastward from
the Telegraph road, and widening, for a quarter of a mile or more, while
this little flat-top hill is of but a few acres, and is the extreme soutliAvest
end of the plateau where it comes upon the Telegraph road. In all the

56 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

assaults of the day the troops mounted the plateau, the Thirteenth mounted
this southwest end of it.

Now let us return to the river bank and come uj) with the Thirteenth
in the assault, as nearly as we may, the irregularities of the ground, and
the necessities of secrecy and cover compelling numerous windings.

Leaving this vicinity, the Thirteenth with its Brigade and Division
moves up the wharf northward, then passes into the city, by going through
the old lane leading from the steamboat landing near the ponton bridge,
westward to the vicinity of Princess Anne street, then turns southward
again, and crosses the broad field west of Mr. Slaughter's house. Here
in this level field the column of the 13th, as we march by the right flank,
is drawn out quite straight, and a solid shot, from the enemy near Lee's
Hill, skims with its own peculiar scream along nearly the whole length of
the Regiment, and not more than ten or fifteen feet overhead, but harm-
less. When across this field we go down a steep bank and wade through
a little stream of mud and. water that empties into Hazel Run ; all the
while bearing towards the left, southward, from the point where we
emerged from the city. A portion of the 13th crosses a deep ditch upon
a few timbers, the rest marches around it at a double-quick. Just before
we drop into Hazel Run valley we pass over a part of the day's battle-
field. Next we move more directly forward, westward, at an irregular,
jerky, rapid pace, quick, double-quick, run, and come upon uneven ground
where there is a partial cover, among scant brush and a few low ridges
and knolls, from the enemy's musketry fire now coming upon us quite
severe from his pickets, evidently at a long range, and from a few small
cannon shot. As we pass, the dead of the day's battle are seen lying on
the ground to our right in large numbers. The enemy's fii-e rapidly in-
creases as we move down a slight declivity on nearing the railroad. We
next approach the Richmond and Fredericksburg Railroad, countermarch
into line of battle along the city side of the embankment, the southeast
side, which now affords a little shelter from the enemy's fire. The even-
ing grows dark very rapidly here in the mist or smoke in the valley. The
sun set to-day at forty-five minutes after four.

After the line of battle is formed here, the right of the 13th, with
Col. Stevens, is towards the city, the left, with Maj. Storer, is towards
Hazel Run, Lt. Col. Bowers being in the centre. The Thirteenth is on
the right of the second line of Col. Hawkins' (First) Brigade ; the 25th
N. J. is on the right of the first line, and in front of the Thirteenth.
The 9th N. Y., Hawkins' Zouaves, have tlie left of the front line of the
Brigade. The iiositions of the 10th N. H., 89th and lOod N. Y. in our
Brigade are not distinctly knoAvn to the writer.

Gen. llarland's (Second) Brigade is in support, the 4th R. L, 8th,
11th, ir)th. Ifith, and 21st Conn. ; and this Brigade halts within a few-
rods of the railroad, and our First Brigade is in all the succeeding part
of the charge alone. M. & C H. of Conn. 294.

The enemy's fire, while we are here at the railroad, is made much

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 57

worse by a light Union battery, which has taken position to the right and
rear of our Brigade, and commences firing furiously, a part of its shells
going almost directly over our heads. The enemy's fire, however, thus
invited, soon silences this spiteful little snap-dragon ; one rebel shell is
seen by us to burst directly ujion the top of one of these Union guns,
others among the guns ; and the battery hauls off, or ceases firing, evi-
dently getting the worst of the duel. Soon other Union batteries open,
farther to our right, but also firing nearly over our heads as we advance.

Gen. Hazard Stevens, then serving on the staff of Gen. Getty, contrib-
utes the following- : " Just as Gen. Getty's Division was about to charge,
the General sent Maj. Edward .Tardine of the 9th N. Y., Hawkins' Zouaves,
a gallant officer who had been in action several times before, to assist Col.
Stevens in leading the Thirteenth, which had never been under fire.
When Ma.j Jardine arrived he found the Thirteenth drawn up in line of
battle in front of the R. & F. Railroad embankment all ready, and only
awaiting the order to adv^ance to the assault. Planting himself in front
of the line, he started to make a military speech in order to inspire the
Regiment with the necessary ardor for the bloody work before it ; but as
he looked down the long regular line of glistening bayonets, and saw the
determined, resolute faces, and stalwart forms, he realized that any ha-
rangue was not needed, and finally burst out with : ' Thirteenth New
Hampshire, you love your country, you are brave men, and you came out
here to fight for her — now, go in ! Forward I ! ' "

A moment later the Regimental officers give the order to their several
commands, and the column moves close up under the railroad embank-
ment to mount it and charge. More than half an hour has been taken
up since we left the river bank, but after the dispositions are made our
halt and waiting in line of battle along the R. & F. R. R. is but for a
few minutes, when the order rings along the line : " Forward I " — at
which the most of the Brigade starts, but a part is left lying down flat
on the ground. Even with this loss, if the charge had kept on as it
started, there might have been some chance for success ; but after a little,
squads of men halted along the way and commenced firing over the
heads of the body of the Brigade which kept advancing. We do not
pretend to know where these fools came from — but they were there.

As a whole, however, we quickly cross the railroad in good order, bay-
onets fixed, and with a rush and a cheer dash forward to the assault on
the dou])le-quick. The writer here distinctly remembers seeing the Thir-
teenth in a fair, good line, in the dusk, when at some distance across the
railroad ; but soon a part of the left wing of the Reg. plunges into the
deep mud of a wet, swampy, ditchy place which extends towards Hazel
Run, the right wing and the colors finding better ground. There is much
scattering fire upon us from the right and left, but for a few minutes just at
the first of our assault there is an ominous silence on our front. The left
wing of the 2oth N. J. in the front line of our Brigade, and in advance of
the Thirteenth, plunges into mud, breaks up, lies down or sinks, and divides,

58 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

a part only advancing who find solid ground, and the 13th keeping up take
tlieir advance position. The order of the right wing of the 25th is better,
but this wing soon surges to the right, uncovering the colors of the 13th.
and the Reg. springs at once for the advance. This irregularity is soon
adjusted to some extent, but the line of the 25th is broken and in squads,
and the 13th is up even with them or close behind them from this time.

When the assault first began the Captains of companies in the 13th
sprang to the front, all urging their men to the utmost, and the men
kept well up in line, dressing on the colors ; and followed very close upon
the ranks of the Jerseymen. Very naturally, howevei*, the centre of the
Regiment bulged forward a little, as the colors directed the course of the
assault, and when the 25th N. J. broke up in the mud, its men in front
of our colors were in the way of the men of the 13th, who stepped upon
them and over them as they fell into the ditch, and before they had time
to rise again. Thus our colors easily came to the van ; while parts of
the line of the 13th were held back by the large squads of the men of the
25th, who kept on in spite of the mud. This nuid accident damaged, if
it did not destroy, the effective power of both Regiments ; but the 13th
seeing the 2.5th in the mud first, had a little better ojiportunity to avoid
it. The assault from this time until we halt near the rebel lines, is all
the work of ten minutes and less, and terrible beyond words to describe ;
and by this time it is so dusky that we cannot see clearly more than a
few rods. A part of the right wing of the 25th N. J. extends to the
right beyond the extreme right of the 13th ; but we are so close upon the
men of the rest of that wing that our men could reach them with their
bayonets.

As for the colors of the 13th and the centre near them and within view
of the writer, we soon clear a stone wall, or broken down fence built
partly of stone. ^ the mud and water of a ditch, the enemy for a moment
having ceased firing on our front — w^aiting for us ! — move obliquely
somewhat to the right, charge directly up a steeji bank, and are moving
forw^ard, on smooth and nearly level ground, towards a high point on the
enemy's line, a great black hill, and said to be his most formidable posi-
tion in this vicinity ; when we hear a rebel order : '' Ready, Aim — Fire ! "
and w'ith a terrific crash, and a long line of blaze and flame lighting up
much of the scene, revealing long, dense rows of rebel heads and leveled
muskets, and all ripping out at once, right close in our faces, comes a volley
of rebel musketry, apparently from three or four ranks of men crownled
into one long line of battle and not more than one hundred and fifty feet dis-
tant from us and our colors ; some members of our Regimeiit say at less
than half that distance, and that they felt upon their faces the heat of the
discharge. Anyhow, it was ' pesky near,' as one of our men said of the
rebel bullet that blistered the end of his nose without cutting any of it off.
The rebel volley seems to 2)our out of the very ground, and the line of
flame appears to be as long as three or four ordinary regimental fronts.
^ See Carleton, at end of Dec 13,

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 59

After an instant's delay in the firing, of which delay we make the most
by advancing, volley after volley follows from the rebels, to the right and
left, rapid, solid, crash upon crash, amid a general storm of file firing,
or firing at will, more directly in our front ; while shells and gra])e pour
in a shower, from front, from right, from left, from the high hillside and
from the lower level, scream through our lines, whirr, purr, and whizz
over our heads, and beat and bound on the ground about us, and the
enemy's infernal explosive bullets snap, crackle and sparkle on every
hand and in the air. The flashes of fire on all sides from musket, cannon
and shell are as thousands upon thousands, constant, innumerable, and
the roaring indescribably terrific. But for us the enemy fires high, the
most of his shots going over our heads. The whole scene is royally mag-
nificent ; and well worth going five thousand miles to see.

At the first terrible volley, a body of men of the 25th N. J. divided
into irregular squads, in front of us, suddenly turn and dash to the rear,
straight back through the line of the Thirteenth, and create considerable
confusion ; but the men of the 13th hold on their way as best they may,
give a shout and rush forward a few yards nearer to the enemy's front
lines ; when a veiy deep and hoarse voice, near by to the right, is heard
above the din, shouting : " Down, Boys — Down ! " and the order is
quickly obeyed. (The writer has been unable to learn who gave this
order, the voice unknown to him.) Here the writer must have been near
the Thirteenth's colors, for he is nearly knocked down, and is consid-
erably hurt by the staff of the colors hitting him on the left side of the
head, as the color-bearer falls towards the front at the word " Down ! "
and the colors fall and lie at his left. But after the volley and before the
halt, the Captains and other officers are trying to rally the Reg. and to
continue the assault. There is a babel of orders and commands in which
the writer recognizes the voice of Capt. Dodge, and of Capt. Julian, who
stands up for a little time and sends his clear, sharp voice all abroad
for Company E to advance ; but wisdom and prudence soon argue for
preservation of life, and he lies down on the ground near a rod to the
left and front of the colors, and there remains for a long time. Advance
now means advance to a grave, or upon scant and bad rations in a rebel
prison. We can see the heads of the rebels now and then in the flashes
of light, and distinctly hear their officers' words of command. We could
easily throw a stone over among them. A few minutes after the halt,
and while lying down, the writer receives a hard thump on his side, as a
piece of shell strikes Company E's large record book which he carries, and
cuts into the leather cover. Peter Smithwick of E hears the blow, and
reaching forward, pulls at the writer's foot, and asks in anxious tones :
" Orderly, Orderly ; are you killed ? " and receives for an answer : '* No ;
only jarred."

As the officers and men kept moving forward while rallying from the
effects of the first volley, they unconsciously advanced a considerable dis-
tance before the final halt. The writer thinks that one of the Regiment's

60 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

colors changed hands during the assault. It will be readily seen that the
companies became mingled together, the wings naturally drawing towards
the centre in the closing-up movement as men stopped or fell. Some of our
color-guard, and quite a number of our men, now gather near our colors;
for though the night is now quite dark, we are so near to the muzzles of the
enemy's cannon and muskets, that the wild scene is considerably lighted up
by the incessant flashes of burning powder, and we can see our men lying
about. These, however, eventually all come ofE the field with us. The
writer moves a little to the right into a sandy depression, or hole made by
a bursting shell. AVe are so near the enemy that his gun wads, or cart-
ridge bags, fly over us, and some of them fall burning, smoking and stinking
among us, and we feel upon our faces and hands the wind of the dis-
charges of his cannon. Our men here pick up these burning wads or bags
upon their bayonets and toss them away. We constantly hear the rebel
commands. Their cannon are depressed, the muzzles well down, and we
can see them jump back as they are fired. All that saves the portion of
the Thirteenth now directly around the colors is their nearness to the
rebel cannon and rifles, which cannot be dej^ressed sufficiently to reach us
with their fire, and a little dry hollow, dropping less than two feet, in the
surface of the field just where the men are lying. The shelter is just
enough to permit a man to rise a little from the ground, support himself
upon his elbow, and look about him, as some of us do, and have quite a
clear view, for a few seconds at a time, of the near surrounding^scene.

We doubt if the enemy can see us, any better than we can see him.
It is too dark to see far, but the flash of a cannon lights up for a moment
quite a wide space near us. The missiles of all sorts fly over our heads
like hail, and with a near, cutting, whizzing liiss, like the sound of a lot
of small buzz-saws, and the cannonading is furious ; the shots pouring over
us from all sides, and those from our own batteries, in our rear, as danger-
ous to us as any. The fire of our batteries is directed upon the huge
black hill rising close in our front. The enemy's aim from his cannon
mounted upon the same great hill seems to be directed upon our troops
on the flat ground nearer the unfinished railroad and Hazel Run than we
are ; the missiles from the two fires sweep over our heads, though very
closely, but for those troops a few rods in our rear the situation must be
terrible. There are no Union troops between us and the line of the
enemy's musketry-fire along the sunken Telegraph road in our front, not
a man dead or alive. By the flashes we can see every rod of that space.
Nor are any men with the white leggings to be seen hereabout. We
must needs take the matter philosophically, for there is no w^ay to escape
from our position except to bolt for the rear the instant the firing quiets
down, if it ever does — minutes are hours in a jjlace like this. At some
distance back of us, a little to the right, a scattered line of Union troops
are unwisely firing over us at the enemy's lines ; and the enemy is firing
in reply from half a dozen lines high up across our front. There is much
tiring also from a lot of houses far to our right, very wild firing and sharp.

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 61

We are in the midst of a magnificent exhibition of fireworks, their flashes
of flame ranging from the bright spark of a rebel explosive bullet, to the
instant glare of a locomotive headlight, as the cannon discharge and the
shell burst, the blaze and roaring about the same on every hand and front
and rear. The many crazy Union bullets are just skimming over our
heads, from the rear, while the flashes of the Union guns only serve to
pi'ovoke an increasing fire from the enemy on our front, their bullets also
just skimming over our heads. The Union bullets are as dangerous for
us to face in retreating, as the enemy's bullets are in following us. The
situation is a trying one ; but our interest in this scene, so new and strange
to us raw troops, robs the dangers of half their terrors. And so we lie
and wait. Think of spending half an hour in such a 2)lace !

The colors of the Thirteenth, and the body of men close about them,
are now near the western side of that little field on the southwest end of
the bluff ; the position is recognizable at a glance, and no other spot on
the whole line satisfies the conditions of the charge and halt. To the
right and left of the colors we can see the men of the Thirteenth lying
upon the ground. While we are here one large Union shell, that comes
rushing, screaming, the nearest of all to our heads, plunges into the ground
about twenty-five or fifty feet to our front, bursts upon striking, jarring
the ground and giving us a shower of gravel ; as usual the most of the
pieces take the direction of the shell, and we can hear the enemy scream,
curse and swear. Since the first volleys, the enemy in dense ranks, in
large numbers, and firing at will, have })roduced a perfect roar of mus-
ketry ; but as they fire high and about all their shots go over, the result
is more threatening than harmful. One thing we note particularly — and
it is remarked upon while we lie here, as the firing lulls to fewer bright
flashes, and as talk commences about finding and removing all our
wounded to the rear — we have not seen and cannot now see any bodies
of men, living or dead, lying or standing in front of ourselves, in the
narrow space between us and the enemy's nearest line of ilashing muskets,
though the ground appears smooth and rising a little from us to their line
along the sunken road and stone wall. No men of any other regiment
are in front of the Thirteenth now and here. We can occasionally, in
the flashes of light, see the hands and arms of the rebels working, as
they ram their cartridges home ; and the multitude of their commands
indicate many oflicers " present for duty." Our interest in the situation
is greatly enhanced by knowing that they would instantly shoot us all at
sight, if they could possibly do so I

It is officially claimed that the Thirteenth (with the 2.5th N. J.) gained
a point much nearer to the rebel stone wall and batteries here than any
other of the Union forces ; but as the left wing of the 25th was badly
broken up in the mud and its right wing extended to the i-ight considerably
beyond the right of the Thirteenth, the colors of the 13th were necessarily
uncovered ; at any rate they were uncovered, and came up independently
to the front line of the assaulting column, and no Union troops, dead or

62 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

alive, were In front of the colors, and men of the Thirteenth about them,
at the final halt ; the writer was in a position to know that fact.

AVe are under fire in the charge ahout forty minutes. It seems to us
that we lie here, where we wei'e ordered down, for a full half hour. On
looking about for the wounded, after the rebel firing has slackened, none
are found in front of us, and a man now lying near our colors, but to the
right of them, remarks : " We will all be captured if we remain here,"
and suggests a retreat. The word is passed from one to another, and
after a little we all rise and move back, crouching low, some creeping on
hands and knees, for a short distance, and then march, sweeping around
considerably towards the north at first, to the rear of the Richmond and
Fredericksburg Railroad, and there find a part of the Thirteenth halted
and forming in line ; and at the railroad hear a sj^eech going on — some
one urging that we charge again — and we, are told that the speaker is Col.
Donohoe of the 10th N. H. That idea, however, is soon abandoned.
Squads of men rapidly coming in join their regiments ; the 13th is re-
formed, withdraws from the vicinity of the railroad about 9 p. m., marches
down to the city and bivouacs until morning ; having first halted for a long
time, in a little field near the city limits^ while our wounded are cared for.

Capt. Julian retired from the front with the colors. The writer was
directed to look after some of the men who were temporarily missing.
When the enemy's first crashing volley struck the Thii'teenth, the most of
it and the colors had cleared the gully or ditch, had moimted a steep bank,
and had advanced some little distance iipon the smooth ground beyond the
crest, and were aiming towards a big black hill rising high directly in our
front, and only a few yards distant.

These circumstantial points are mentioned here only as evidence of
what the ^^Tlter firmly believes, namely : That the colors of the Thirteenth
were carried to a point within one hundred feet of the enemy's line and
nearer than the colors of any other regiment in the army.

Every Company in the Reg. reached the little field above the bluff, and
points about equally distant from the rebel lines ; and members of all
have about the same experiences to relate of what they met during the
charge, and saw and heard while lying down at the front.

While on our way back to the R. & F. Railroad, from the point nearest
to the enemy's lines where we finally halted in the assault at the word
" Down," and after walking a long distance, we find on the blutf-side,
sitting beside a lone tree, apparently an oak, and near a spring of water,
an officer of high rank whom we know, and we stop to see whether he
needs any assistance. We ask him if he is hurt, and he answers, " No,
but I am all bedaubed," and we pass on and leave him there. The writer
was startled on seeing this man, and remembers the incident with great
vividness. It points a prominent landmark, for now, on visiting the field
in May 1885, we find on careful inquiry that but one tree of any con-
siderable size stood during the war on that bluff-side ; and that one was
the oak-tree near Cold Si)ring, which stands about 500 to 600 yards east-

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 63

ward from the stone bank-\vall and Telegraph road. The tree stands but
a few rods from an exceedingly muddy place struck by the column in
the assault. Later in the night, water was obtained from this spring by
Hosp. Steward Royal B. Prescott, and others of the stretcher-corjjs and
Band, for the wounded men of the Thirteenth. The mud near Cold Spring
stojjped, short, many members of the assaulting colunni.

As we leave the field of the assault we pass through a large number of
the dead ; and at one point not far from the railroad, near the crest of
the long bluff and under it, they are so thickly strewn, that if we should
try, Ave could walk a long distance upon the bodies without once stepping
upon the ground. The dead lay all along our line of march, most of them
to the right, as we went up to the assault, and were very numerous just
where the Thirteenth re-formed after the charge, along the bluff, and the
R. & F. Railroad nearer the city. Of these Lt. Col. Grantman, then
Captain commanding Co. A, on the extreme right of the Reg., states that
while the Thirteenth was being re-formed some one inquired what regi-
ment it was lying on the ground under the bluff, and just across our front,
and that he, Grantman, went up to them, and spoke to sevei-al of them,
but received no reply. He su2)posed them to be asleep, as it was now too
dark to see very clearly. Trying to wake one or two of them, he found
they were dead — and so of all. As they lay on the ground in a long line
conforming to the edge of the ridge or bluff, they had the appearance of a
large regiment that had just laid down in a somewhat irregular line of
battle — there were hundreds of them.

The New Hampshire Adjt. General's Report for 1866, Vol. II. p. 786,
states : About 5 o'clock on the afternoon of Dec. 13, Gen. Getty was
ordered to attempt, with his Division of only two brigades, what two
Corps had attempted in vain. Hawkins' Brigade was to attack supported
by Harland. Hawkins formed his Brigade in two lines, the Thirteenth
on the right of the second line. The troops moved across the railroad
(R. & F.), under a considerable fire from both musketry and artillery,
and nearly to the point where the Telegraph road turns at a sharp angle,
about the foot of Marye's Heights, and runs nearly west ; when they
obliqued to the right, and charged up the steep bank, in hopes of carrying
the works which crowned its crest. It was so dark that the line was a
good deal confused, and receiving a terrific volley when within a few rods
from the enemy, and the point aimed at, the regiments were broken up
and retreated in disorder. The lines were re-formed, but the command
was ordered to retire to the city.

No language could more perfectly designate the hill close to the Ceme-
tery, and at its southwest corner, and the steep bank of the hill dropping
from the little field on the top of it southward towards Hazel Run.

The crest of the bluff not only curved outward generally, but was rough,
notched and irregular in outline ; so that one company on a part of the
crest may have been nearer the enemy than the next company, which
advanced into the level field. The discussion of the question as to who,

64 THIRTEP:NTH new HAIMPSHIRE regiment. 1862

or what company, of the Thh"teenth went nearest to the rebel stone wall
is altogether unprofitable — a question of a few feet at most. The
writer halted in the field on the top of the bluff ; the colors were there
also ; he saw members of the Regiment to the right and left, and knows
them to be so because of the assembly later, and believes that all the
companies were about equally represented at the extreme front. The
colors were bound to lead and direct, for that is their purpose, the Regi-
ment from right to left dressed on the colors, and any bend in the line was
but slight. The honor of the Regiment rests with the colors, and the
colors went deep into the level field on the top of the bluff. Though the
line of the Thirteenth was somewhat disordered by the deep mud, the first
volley from the enemy and the sudden break to the rear made by a small
body of troops in our front, all occurring within a few minutes ; still every
company held its position as a whole, and mounted the plateau, or moved
forward into the little field at the top ; and this fact is sustained by the
positive statements of all the company commanders later made, while
discussing the incidents of the charge, each company in the line coming
up to about the same point of nearness to the rebel stone bank-wall.

Though quite a number of the men of the Thirteenth were about the
colors on the field at the extreme front under the Confederate cannon,
the writer has been unable to recall with sufficient clearness the name of
any companion who was there at the time excepting Peter Smithwick of
E, and he has had no communication with Smithwick since the war
closed, till now. To test his memory on the point, the writer requested
Quarter-master Morrison to ask C. A. Stiles, P]sq., of Wilton, N. IT., to in-
terview him in reference to the incidents of the charge, Mr. Stiles being
furnished with the items of fact recjuiring substantiation, but Smithwick
not being informed as to them or as to what was the purpose of the inter-
view. This was done about the first of March, 1887. Such personal
items well authenticated are very desirable in a history of this form ; a
history in which the officers and men together tell the story of the Regi-
ment. Smithwick has been an unfortunate man, but is honest to a fault.
The following was the result of the interview :

" Wilton. N. H., March 10, 1887.
Lieut. S. Millett Thompson, Providence, R. I.

Dear Sir : When the assault was made on Marye's Heights and the
stone wall on the evening of Dec. 13, 1862, by Gen, Getty's Division, I
went with the colors of the Thirteenth N. H. V., and also with a number
of the men of the Thirteenth, a considerable distance beyond the point
where we received the first heavy volley of the rebel musketry fire, and
until the firing became so severe and near that we were ordered to lie
down ; when we did so, falling and lying flat on our faces ujion the
ground, with our heads towards the enemy ; it seems to me we were
there nearly half an hour before the firing ceased and we were ordered
to retire. While we were lying there on the ground I heard something

1862

BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 65

strike you — S. M. T. — or a book you had, with a hard thump, and I
reached forward and iiulled at your foot, and asked if you were hurt, or
killed, or words to that effect, and you answered ' No.'

I also remember that while we were lying there, the gun wads or cart-
ridge bags from the rebel cannon fell among us burning and stinking, and
the men near us tossed them away with their bayonets ; we could feel the
wind and warmth of the fire of the rebel cannon on our faces and hands,
and the place was somewhat lighted up by the flashes of the guns.

I remember too that before we left the field up there on the front
where we laid down, we looked about for the wounded, and found no one
dead or alive nearer the rebel guns than we were, and we left no one
lying there. After retiring, the Regiment was re-formed near the bank,
where there were a large number of dead bodies lying about on the
ground. Very truly yours|

(Signed) Peter Smithwick.

(Signed) Witness, C A. Stiles."

In reference to the above statement and the interview, Mr. C. A. Stiles
writes : " Peter Smithwick is very clear in his remembrance. He says
it was Orderly Thompson that told him to lie down when in front of the
enemy, as he was so tall. It would be impossible for the story to be told
so nearly alike unless they (vSmithwick and Thompson) were both on the
spot. He is very clear in all that he has signed."

It is officially claimed that the Thirteenth was under fire, in the assault,
for forty minutes ; and that its dead lay within one hundred and twenty
feet, officially verified, of the enemy's cannon. Lieut. Staniels writes in
his diaiy : " Our Brigade ordered into action at sunset, charged, withdrew
at about nine, and bivouacked on the field." We take the following from
Capt. Julian's letters w^-itten from the front :

" The Thirteenth was under fire both hot and heavy, for about forty
minutes, in the night assault of Dec. 13 ; and we were for the most of
that time within about fifty yards from the enemy concealed behind a stone
wall, but they could see every man of us. We labored under a great dis-
advantage in the assault, having a regiment, the 25tli N. J., in front of
us, which broke and fled, breaking back through our lanks. Had it not
been for this regiment in front, the Thirteenth would have seen the other
side of that stone wall. We went nearer to the enemy than any other
regiment that participated in the fight at this place. The night was
dark, and we were so near the enemy it was impossible to rally the men
while at the extreme front. I tried to do so till I found myself standing
alone in an open and level space of ground, not many rods distant from
the enemy and slightly in advance of the colors ; and then thinking dis-
cretion the better part of valor, I laid down as the rest were doing, piled
my roll of blankets and haversack in front of my head to protect it so
far as they would, and there remained near half an hour between the
two fires, and cross-fire, of both the enemy and our own troops.

66 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

*' Shot, shell and musket balls made merry music around me, and some
of them came very near me, but I was not struck. The enemy fired
among us an immense number of bullets, or some small contrivance, that
exploded as they struck, giving forth little flashes of flame and sounding
like fire-crackers, also bounding from the ground and flashing in the air
above us and on all sides. Company E was the Color-company. We ad-
vanced the colors a number of yards into the field above the top of the
bluft' and brought them off with us in safety. I took into the fight that
night an Enfield rifle captured from a rebel picket, one of the two taken
by Company E on the night of Dec. 11. I meant to have preserved this
musket and sent it home as a relic of the battle, but intrusted it to the
care of one of the men, who lost it, greatly to my regret."

Capt. Julia?^.

We are also pleased to give the following from Lieut, (then First Ser-
geant) Charles M. Kittredge of Company B, the second company from
the right of the Thirteenth, and commanded by Capt. Elisha E. Dodge :

''It was dusk when the Thirteenth moved over the E. & F. Railroad,
and dashed across the level field towards Marye's Heights. The most of
the heavy guns had ceased firing ; the rebel pickets were troublesome ;
but without any opposition from the intrenched enemy, we crossed the
field, turned to the right, and charged directly up a steep bluff in front
of the famous stone wall. The left wing had necessarily the longest dis-
tance to go, because of the swing to the right, and before we reached the
top of the bluff the ranks of the 13th had become somewhat irregular
and broken. The increasing darkness, the mysterious silence of the
enemy, and the evidences of defeat and destruction all about us, were
by no means inspiring. Repeated orders were heard from the line offi-
cers to ' Dress on the Colors ; ' and all along the line brave officers and
men were rallying to the old Flag, and pressing to the front. Company
B had hardly reached the crest of the bluff, with a part of the 25th N.
J. just in front of us, when a low muffled order was passed along the
Confederate line, distinct, firm, deliberate, and dreadful to our ears,
' Ready, Aim — Fire I '

'' The next instant came the flash, and by its light we could distinctly
see, directly in our front, a solid column of ' Gray Jackets,' behind a waU,
in dense ranks, three or four men deep, with gims aiming over each oth-
er's shoulders.^ The tei'rific volley bowed the men of the 25th N. J.,
and swayed them, like a swath of grass cut with the scythe, and back
down the slope they came, upon and through the ranks of the Thirteenth.
Company B was almost literally buried for a few moments, by the terri-
fied and wounded. To add to the confusion, the rebels kei:>t up a rapid
fire, which was returned by come of our own men, who were below us
and could not discern, in the darkness, friend from foe. We were for
a time between two leaden fires.

^ From the contour of the ground Company B must have been well up beyond the
general line of the crest of the bluff in order to have seen the rebels' heads at all, and
even nearer the wall than Lieut. Kittredge imagines.

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 67

"When I succeeded in freeing myself from the heap of the fallen, I
was minus my military cap and had a bayonet wound near my right eye,
and a war mark across my forehead. Just then I heard the command of
that brave and noble man, Capt. Dodge, as he stood above the crest, ring-
ing out clear and sharj) above the noise of the musketry, ' Company B —
Fall in ! ' He repeated the order several times, as I stood by his side,
but the darkness and confusion were too great to foi-m the broken and
scattered ranks. The day's work was done. The battle of Fredericks-
burg was ended, and only the groans of the wounded and dying could be
heard, and the noise of the firing, as in silence and sadness we groped our
way back towards the city, and in fragments of companies encamped in
the lowlands. We must have gone nearer to the Confederate lines than
any other troops. I do not think we were more than from thirty to fifty
(30-50) yards from the stone wall when we received that terrible volley.
The rebel order to fire was as distinctly heard as though it had been
given by our own oflicers, and it was given in a very subdued tone of
voice ; and when that flash revealed the mass of slouched hats, and glis-
tening gun barrels and bayonets, it seemed as though we could almost
shake hands with the rebels. Certainly their nearness was extremely un-
comfortable to us, and I believe that had the order to fire been delayed
but a few seconds, and the rebels aimed very low, there would have been
a great loss of life, and the happy reunion of the Thirteenth New Hamj)-
shire would hardly have taken place on this side of the Rappahannock."

Lieut. Kittredge.

It is also very gratifying to hear from Capt. Betton on these points ;
he states :

" My Company, K, then having nearly its full number of men, was on
the extreme left of the Tliirteenth in this charge, being the second rank-
ing company. When the oblique movement to the right was made. Com-
pany K was compelled to move more rapidly than the rest, as the Regi-
ment swung to the right, in order to dress on the colors. Just before
the enemy fired the first volley at us, Lieut. E. W. Goss, very enthusias-
tic as usual, sprang to the front of the left of the Company, waved his
sword, and called upon the men to follow him, and he was about a rod in
front of the Company when the volley came. The bullets flew past him
without harm. Many believe that he got nearer the stone wall than any
other man in the Regiment, and surely he was among the nearest. The
three men on the left of my Company, Henry G. Thompson, John Har-
mon and John K. A. Hanson, were captured. They approached to a
point from which they could not retreat, and were captured when the
enemy threw out his skirmish line. We got within about twenty yards of
the stone wall. John C. Stevens, who was Thompson's file-leader, says
that Thompson was hurt ; and Stevens and Henry 8. Paul think that the
Regiment was not more than three rods from the enemy when they fired
the first volley. Robert W. Varrell carried the National colors into the
charge. He was a very large man, weighing about 300 pounds. He

68 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 18C2

dropped the colors, and some one else brought them off the field. He
claimed that he was hurt. He ra})i(lly fell away to a mere shadow of his
former self, and did no duty after the battle." Capt. Betton.

These extracts from letters written at the front and statements clearly
indicate the general belief concerning the Thirteenth's nearness of ap-
proach to the rebel stone wall. A few incidents of this day. Dec. 13. 18G2,
which goes into history as the day of chief interest in the Battle of P'red-
ericksburg, may not be out of place.

While we are lying on the bank of the river near the Gas Works this
morning, one of the enemy's large shells is seen to burst among a com-
pany of a hundred or so of Union soldiers, coming down the road to the
ponton bridge, on the Falmouth bank. Many of them fall, some are hurt,
but every man rises to his feet, and marches along upon the bridge. The
most wonderful instance of hair-breadth escapes the writer ever saw.

While here, too, even in the midst of the shelling, the shells constantly
flying each way over our heads, the men enter into a contest of stone
throwing for amusement ; attempting to throw a stone across the Rap-
pahannock, where it is said that Gen. Washington did, from the Wash-
ington farm to the Fredericksburg shore at the ferry landing, just where
the central ponton bridge now is. Many make the trial, but only one
succeeds, a huge fellow from Michigan.

It is stated on good authority that duriiig the battle to-day about 100
pickets, belonging to a New Hampshire Regiment, not the 13th, while
skirmishing, suddenly offered not to fire another shot, if the rebel pickets
would not ; the proposition was accepted, the men of both sides ceased
firing, threw down their arms, met between the lines, shook hands, and
mingled together in conversation for some time. Were then severally
ordered back to their posts, and soon went on with the work of war as
usual.

One reason given for the failure to carry Marye's Heights, and for
the awful slaughter attending to-day's assaults upon them, is that '' dashes
end in fusillades." On coming near the enemy's lines the Union men re-
ceive the enemy's close fire, and immediately lie down and commence
firing themselves in reply, and there remain without any shelter, right in
the focus of the enemy's fiercest fire, until they are cut to pieces ; the
few survivors having to run back to save their lives, if thus they may.
If, instead of this, they had kept straight on, they would it is believed,
have captured the enemy's works.

During the charge to-night, a man of the 13th is knocked down the
bank of a ditch by the concussion of a bursting shell. He is stunned for
a time, and on realizing his situation, finds himself held down in the mud
by two men, who lie partly on top of him. He asks them to get off, but
they do not move quickly enough to suit him. He struggles out from
under them, and upon examination, finds them both dead. He has no
idea how long he lay among them. Next morning he finds his clothing
so much saturated with blood, which at night he su})posed to be water,

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 69

that he is obliged to throw it all away and obtain a new suit. On the
whole, an experience he can never forget, though unhurt.

Maj. Storer loses his sword from the scabbard while on the retreat, and
does hot discover his loss until he reaches the place of bivouac near the
city. He at once starts out upon the field again and recovers it.

The enemy's vicious explosive bullets cracked, flashed and sparkled
about us like a shower of fire-crackers in the night, exploding as they
struck — hellish little things. The enemy threw samples of all his
missiles : grape, canister, shell, niinie, round and explosive bullets, and
solid shot, and, as the men aver, long pieces of railroad rails.

A large detail goes up on the field to-night, to care for, and to bring
off, the wounded. Of course the wounded cannot in many cases be dis-
tinguished from the dead, for the night is very dark, and our men must
needs carry a lantern. But the enemy fires upon our men with the
lanterns, whenever the lights are exposed. Not all in the Southern army
are chivalrous ! Asst. Surgeon Sullivan worked all night among our
wounded men, and was fired at by the enemy while carrying a lantern in
looking after the wounded of the Regiment ; he was the only regimental
Surgeon with the Thirteenth during the assault, Surgeon Richardson hav-
ing been ordered to remain at the Hospital in the city.

A reliable man of the 13th writes home : '' We went so near the mouths
of the rebel cannon, in the assault, that the blaze warmed our faces."
Another states : " I am unhurt, but the two men next on my right hand,
one man next on my left, and the man behind me, were all hurt ; one of
them having his gun knocked out of his hand by a canister shot."

The Band of the 13th had a very hard night's work. They joined the
stretcher-corps, and followed us to the charge, and ke^rt only a few jjaces
in our rear. The volleys meant for us flew over their heads also. After
our return from the assault, they hastily removed the wounded ; going up
within a few yards of the enemy's front line. They were repeatedly fired
upon by the enemy, but continued in the work of removing the wounded
until after eleven o'clock. One of the Band states that " tlie fiercest part
of the final rush of the Thirteenth and Brigade, and the enemy's wor^t
firing at us, lasted about fifteen minutes." The enemy evidently expected
a repetition of our assault, for they threw out no pickets or skirmishers
until long after the main body of the Thirteenth had retired from the
front, and our wounded had been removed.

The following is copied substantially, as corroliorative :

Capt. James A. Sanborn, Historian of the 10th N. H. V., states, that
"the plain which we charged across was staked off by the enemy's En-
gineers before the battle, and the distances marked on the gun-carriages,
to cut shell-fuse by." He continues : " The 9th N. Y., Hawkins' Zouaves,
were on picket at the front in the outskirts of the city on the night of
Dec. 12th, and were relieved by the 10th N. H. on the morning of Dec.
13th. The 10th N. H. drove in the rebel skirmishers, and occui)ied the
railroad and Hazel Run, on the flank. And from their position witnessed

70 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHHIE REGIMENT. 1862

the repeated charges, made during the day, upon INIarye's Heights. Just
before dark the rest of our First Brigade, excepting Hawkins' Zouaves,
came up and joined the 10th N. H. ; and charged just at dark, across the
ground where thousands had been repulsed and slain during the day.
The Brigade moved across the plain in quick time until the rebel batteries
opened, and then at double-quick. A fence is passed, then a deep ditch,
under the tremendous artillery fii-e, and solid ground is found only to be
swejit by a perfect monsoon of lead and iron, from the enemy's batteries
and lines of battle behind the stone wall. The Brigade moves forward
until the rebel muskets seem to flash in our men's very faces. Regiments
mingle in confusion in the darkness, now only relieved by the flash of the
enemy's guns. Retiring a short distance, the lines of the 10th and 13th
N. H. are re-formed, but the attack is relinquished. The 10th N. H.
bivouacked that night in an open field."

The ofticial report of the assault of the 13th on this evening places the
losses at two men killed, three officers — Capt. Carter, and Lieutenants
Durell and Shaw — and thirty-one men wounded, and six men missing.
Total forty-two. How it was that so many men as there were in the
Thirteenth, got into that place, and ever got out again unhurt, is a won-
der to all. It can only be accounted for by the high, wild and excited
firing done by the enemy, who " thought that a vastly heavier column
was coming upon them."

Six officers of the 13th were absent sick, or on leave. A few officers,
and a number of the enlisted men, the writer among the number, went
through the whole battle and on duty all the time, though they had been
excused from duty by order of the Surgeon.

After Lieut. M. A. Shaw of Company I was wounded, Lieut. Chas. H.
Curtis of Company C was placed in command of Company I on the bat-
tle-field. Sergeant William R. Duncklee of I carried the State colors.
He was wounded in the side of the head, but brought his colors off the
field, and with them the National colors also, which the other color-
bearer had dropped. Sergt. Amasa Downes of B took the State colors
after the return to the railroad. Sergt. David W. Bodge of B took the
National colors. Duncklee was absent in Hospital about three months.

Our charge is supported by batteries of artillery, which take position
about 4.30 p. m. above the town, on the right-hand side of the road to
Marye's Hill. The enemy, however, drive some of these guns away in
three minutes.

The writer found a new hatchet in the mud on the wharf, opposite the Washington
fami, soon after the cohinin left the vicinity of the city Gas Works for the assault,
picked it up, and stuck the handle into his Serjeant's sword-belt. The hatchet, how-
ever, persisted in working- out. and to save it he carried it in his left hand most of
the way. As he was off duty, he had to borrow a gun (his own gun having been put
on the team at Uniontown. Md., and never seen .again). The bayonet of this borrowed
gun fell off and was lost somewhere on the advance to the railroad ; and so he went
into the final assault, without a cartridge box or equipments, his Sergeant" s straight
sword dangling about his legs, the Company's (E) record-book, 14 inches long, 11

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 71

The following notes are made from Confederate accounts.

The land rises back of the city like a vast amphitheatre, on whose huge
terraced seats is Gen. Lee's Army, occupying parquet, circles, balconies,
and far back the highest galleries of all on the crests of the impregnable
hills. Gen. Burnsides Army occupying the low arena, or stage, must
advance up these semicircling, terraced seats. The chief rebel position
near the city is Marye's Hill, located high up between the Plank road
and Hazel Run. The next hill to the south of Marye's Hill, and at a
distance of about one mile, is Lee's Hill, so called because Gen. Lee's
Hdqrs. were established on it during the battle.

The Telegraph road is cut along the east side of Marye's Hill, is about
twenty-five feet wide, and is bordered on the side towards the city by a
strong stone bank-wall about four feet high — "shoulder high." This
road goes around the southeast corner of the hill, turning there at a
sharp angle westward. As nearly as can be made out from the rebel
accounts, this half a mile or so of stone bank-wall was manned on Dec.
13 by a rebel Brigade and parts of two more, all in the road. They
were of Gen. Lafayette McLaws' Division of Gen. Longstreet's Corps,
and commanded by Gen. J. B. Kershaw. The 16th and 18th Georgia
of Gen. T. R. R. Cobb's Brigade (he was wounded about noon) holding
the rebel right. (The writer has been tokl by Confederate Capt. Henley,
referred to on page 54. who was present, that these Georgians fired a
volley prematurely,^ as Gen. Getty's troops appeared above the bank in
the night, and that his Regt., the 32d Va., was sent in partly to relieve
them, and partly to keep them more steady.) The 24th Georgia of Cobb's
Brigade, and the 2d S. C. of Kershaw's Brigade holding the centre.
The Phillips Georgia Legion, and the 8th S. C. of Cobb's Brigade, and
the 15th S. C. (probably) holding the left. Several other regiments are
mentioned, but nothing very definite can be gained as to their distinct
positions. The troops on this front were supported by Gen. Ransom's
Division, posted not 400 yards to the rear of the stone wall. Gen. Ker-
shaw states officially : " The formation along most of the line (of the
stone bank-wall) during the engagement, was four inen deep'' Behind
these troops, on both their flanks, and high uj? all around the sides and
crests of the hills, was a very heavy force, a part of it Ransom's Division,
supporting McLaws, all within easy rifle shot of the comparatively little
space — the stage — in front of Marye's stone bank -wall, where the

inches wide and | inch thick, flopping from a strap over his shoulder, a poor gnn
without a bayonet in one hand, and a shingling' hatchet in the other ; intending to seize
a good gun at the first oppoi-tunity, but no other gun came to hand till after the as-
sault. The hatchet did excellent army service for himself, for Sergt. Van Duzee,
and for many another man, through the winter camp at Fredericksburg and until
after the Siege of Suffolk, when it was sent home, and is still preserved (1887) as a
relic. This was the first battle of the Thirteenth !

^ The line of flame from that first volley was longer than three regiments would
ordinarily make, and therefore other troops must have joined in it with the Geor-
gians. — S. M. T.

72 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

Union troops charged into the fire of these many thonsand rebel muskets,
and of the numerous lieavy batteries of artillery. The Washington Ar-
tillery, Col. Walton, being short of ammunition, had been relieved, on
Marye's Hill, before we charged, by Lt. Col. Alexander, with three fresh
batteries, who states that he " opened (on us) with canister and case-
shot, and this, their last repulse, was said to have been the bloodiest."
There were about fifty rebel cannon on and near Marye's Hill.

Gen. McLaws states, officially : " The body of one man, believed to
be an officer, was found within about thirty yards of the stone wall, and
other single bodies were scattered at increased distances until the main
mass of the dead lay thickly strewn over the ground at something over
one hundred yards off, extending to the ravine." ^

We now return again to the account of the Thirteenth.

After the charge the Reg. retires to a field in the edge of the town,
halts there a while, and then goes to its old place on Caroline street in the
city, and remains there until it goes on picket the night of the 15th.

Sergt. Chas. W. Batchellor of D writes home : " We started to the
charge about dark Saturday afternoon. The 13th the second in line, the
25th New Jersey the first. They would not stand fire, and we came u})on
the field first ; and the first thing we knew, we were within about six rods
of the rebel battery. We dropped on our faces, after giving them a few
shots, and laid there until they ceased firing ; Avhen we moved off on the
other side of the field, and formed the Reg. once more in line. Our men
were brave and courageous. I have lived through one of the most dan-
gerous infantry chai'ges ever made on this continent, as to the best au-
thority we can get from old soldiers."

The remark about moving off •' on the other side of the field " is very
correct ; because in the latter part of the assault the 13th obliqued some-
what to the right, northward, and the men, while coming off the extreme
front, first swept northward and then went straight back to the R. & F.

^ The voice of the man who shouted : "Down, Boys — Down! " to Gen. Getty's
men as they approached the Confederate lines, came from our right, was heavy and
hoarse, though strong, a strange voice, and the writer has queried many times whether
it iniglit not have come from the officer mentioned by Gen. McLaws ; and who, realiz-
ing- our danger in the darkness, shouted to us a word of warning, in the supreme mo-
ment before his own life went out. Allowing one yard of space in the line to each
man, and making the ('onfederate lines " four men deep " along the half a mile of
stone bank-wall, would make the number of Confederates there about o,500, exclusive
of officers. In an interview with Confederate Gen. Lafayette IMcLaws, in Boston, on
Nov. IT, 1S8(), he informed the writer that he was unable to locate upon the map the
spot where the officer above mentioned wiis found, though he thought he was not far
from the Federal left in front of the stone wall. The space along the wall in the road,
he said, would not admit a very large force of infantry without crowding, but every
foot was occupied ; and as the Federals appeared determined to break the Confed-
erate line there, if they could, re-enforcements were marched in whenever the troops
engaged there became wearied or arms became foul, hence many changes occurred
during the day and evening. Gen. McLaws st.ited that the Confederate batteries
could have broken up the central ponton bridge very easily, but it was not done,
partly because of fear that Gen. Burnside would fire the city in retaliation.

1802 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 73

Railroad ; the assault and retreat together forming a curve or loop to-
wards the north.

Judge R. L. Henley,^ previously quoted, stated that the little plain, or
intervale along the north side of Hazel Run, and over a part of which
our Brigade charged on the evening of Dec. 13, was swept by the fire
of more than 10,000 Confederate riflemen, to say nothing of the large
force of artillery.

Gen. Getty informed the writer in May 1885, while examining the
map of the field, that liis assault was directed against the angle at the
southwest corner of Marye's Hill, about where the southwest angle of the
Cemetery wall now stands. He also corroborated the formation as given
above of Col. Hawkins' Brigade, and the statement that Col. Harland's
brigade was held in reserve along the R. & F. Railroad. He wished to
have the statement made in this histoiy that ' his Division formed for the
assault behind the Richmond and Fredericksburg Railroad, and in the
course of the assault Col. Hawkins' Brigade crossed over the unfinished
railroad ; Col. Hawkins' Brigade charged alone, and, after returning from
the assault, was re-formed behind the same R. & F. Railroad near the
point from whence they entered upon the assault, and also near where Col.
Harland's Brigade was held in reserve.'

In the foregoing account we have had no disposition to criticise the
25th New Jersey ; many of its officers exerted themselves to the utmost
to keep their Regiment in line when the muddy swamp was struck, and
a large part of it did hold together. The first volley took more effect
among the men of the 25th, and their losses were much larger than in
the Thirteenth. They claim to have advanced to within fifty paces of the
rebel stone wall, and this establishes our advance to a point still nearer.

The fact that many Confederates moved in and out of the Telegraph
road during the day and evening, the reliefs being frequent, will account
reasonably for the claim made by such great numbers of them that they
fought behind the famous stone wall. A large number have a right to
say, " Er'ekn fer shuah, er war thar."

The writer remembers distinctly that the railroad bank, behind (on the
city side of) which the Thirteenth and other regiments in our Brigade were
re-formed after the assault, had upon it a lot of old railroad ties, and still
showed the little hollows from which ties had been removed ; and that
there was no assembly of, nor attenqit to re-form, the Thirteenth behind
the unfinished railroad, which at that time was mei*ely an affair of low
banks and muddy ditches.

1 Judge Henley, when holding a Captain's commission in the •32d Va. , came near
being captured at a farmhouse, where he happened to be one night when a ])arty
of Union officers came and occupied a part of the house for the purpose of hokling
a consultation. Securely hiding, however, he overheard the details of the contem-
plated raid by Generals Kautz and Wilson against the Danville and other Southern
railroads. Succeeding in making an early escape, he at once wrote to Gen. Lee of
the contemplated movement. This led to the disasters to the Union cavalry at Reams'
Station and vicinity in May 1864 ; and as a reward for this special service, Gen. Lee
promoted him at once to the rank of Major.

74 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

Our charge was in and across the ancient bed of the Rappahannock,
it is said, now occupied in part by the north bank of Hazel Eun. It
was noted, both during the day and during the assault, that one huge
rebel cannon out-bellowed all the rest. Cannon fired directly at you at a
little distance, in the night, look something like instantaneous reddish
flashes of the sua while rising. They instantly wink out huge, glaring,
dazzling eyes, and the next second shut them in midnight blackness.
Then follows the report, and the scream and crash of the shell.

Whoever visits the Fredericksburg battle-field can point to the little
field at the extreme western end of the bluff and jjlateau, and just across
the Telegraph road from the south end of the terraced slope of the Na-
tional Cemetery, and truthfully assert : Deep into that little level field
and close to that bank-wall, came the Colors of the Thirteenth New
Hampshire Regiment, when Gen. Getty's Division made their night as-
sault on Marye's Heights ; reaching a point nearer to the Confederate
lines along this front than the Colors of any other regiment in Gen.
Burnside's army.

During our charge, says a witness : " The fury of the fire, on both sides,
suddenly redoubled, and for half an hour the din was awful, the fighting
severe, and the sparkle and flash, of musketry and cannon, a grand dis-
play — then all was still."

The best description of the scene of our charge on Marye's Heights,
that the writer has met with, is the following :

" At sunset Gen. Sumner made a grand attack : Humphrey, Morrill,
Getty, Sykes, or at least a portion of their Divisions, were gathered under
the hill. Getty made a flank movement, and forced the rebels to leave
the stone wall at the foot of the crest, which they had held all day, and
fi'om which they kept up an annoying fire.^ The sun had gone down, the
daylight was fading away. Our own light artillery opened a rapid fire.
The hillside, the plain, the thicket, Marye's house, the crest of the ridge,
the second range of hills beyond, spai'kled, flashed and blazed with the
rebel fire. There were twenty thousand flashes a minute ; rifles, mus-
kets, cannon, shells. A continuous rattle, and deep, heavy rolls of mus-
ketry, with the heavy pounding of two hundred cannon all along the
(rebel) line, and our own heavy guns, on the northern (Stafford) side,
pouring their heaviest fire upon the rebel positions. The column cleared
the wall, the houses, the thicket, almost reached the top of the hill ; then
weakened, exhausted, were forced to relinquish all they had gained. Of
all the battles I have witnessed, I have seen none where tjie fire equaled
that whicli was poured upon Sumner's conmiand. Tlie new troops, as a
general thing, fought as bravely as the veterans." Caklkton.

Dec. 14. Sun. Pleasant. Very cold last night ; a bitter, damp, be-
numlting cold for the wounded left on the field. Reg. comes into the
city early to its former place on Caroline street. There is a comjjarative

1 Not the bank-wall along- the Telegraph road — another, a field wall. See page
58.— S. M. T.

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 75

quiet all day on our front, excepting occasional severe skirmishing, more
noisy than effective. Many buildings are turned into hospitals, and the
wounded, dying and dead are all about the city. Many of the wounded
ai'e being removed across the river and beyond cannon shot, a constant
procession of them. It is a sad, sad Sunday, for there is not an unbroken
regiment in the army, and here and there along the lines in the street
in our vicinity are little clusters of musket stacks, representing a quarter,
third, or half a regiment now surviving ; the rest are lying dead along the
bloody slopes in front of Marye's Hill, or wounded in the hospitals, or,
possibly worse, are on their tramp to a Southern prison. The distant
firing nearly ceases by 8 p. m., and the men are allowed to occupy the
houses, near by our place on the street, for sleeping ; Sergeants being
required to know exactly where to find their respective squads at a mo-
ment's notice, if they are wanted. To-day Gen. Burnside proposed to head
the 9th Army Corj^s himself, and to rush them, a solid column of 15,000
men, dii-ectly upon Marye's Heights. The order was actually given, and
the positions assigned, but the scheme was abandoned. The hour was
set at 8 a. m., and Col. Hawkins' Brigade, ours, was to lead Gen. Getty's
Division ; but it is said that Col. Hawkins told Gen. Burnside that it was
sheer folly for a dozen or twenty Regiments to attempt to do what sixteen
Brigades had tried and utterly failed to accomplish. Other command-
ers remonstrated so vigorously that Gen. Burnside gave up the idea. Well
for us that he did !

" I was on the field of our assault until late last night looking for the
wounded of our Regiment. The lantern I carried the rebels fired at re-
peatedly, and it was necessary to keep it covered as much as possible.
We advanced in our search very near to the rebel lines along the stone
wall, and I know for a, certainty that no Union men, wounded or dead,
were lying any nearer to the stone wall than the men of the Thirteenth,
all the wounded of whom were found and brought off."

AssT. Surgeon Sullivan.

Dec. 15. Mon. Pleasant, but cool. Heavy firing is heard on the left.
The Thirteenth remains in the city on Caroline street during the day.
Some heavy siege guns re-opened fire to-day, making a great deal of noise,
and in the midst of it a white woman appears in the street, with two small
children, coming as unexpectedly among the soldiers as if they had rained
down, and all three of them frightened more than half to death. They
must have remained in hiding during the bombardment of Dec. 11th and
the whole Federal occupation of the city. The sudden opening of the
siege guns may have suggested to them the possibility of a second bom-
bardment. They are immediately cared for properly, and sent at once to
a place of safety. A number of negroes, men, women and children, for
the sake of freedom, hid, remained in the city and braved the terrible
bombardment, some of them being killed ; but the white population fled,
almost every one.

The winter, now a First Sergeant, about half a dozen other men, and

76 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

two commissioned officers of the Thirteenth, liave actually been off duty,
by ordei's of the regimental Surgeon, during all the march through Mary-
land and all this battle of Fredericksburg, but still have kept with the
Regiment ; and went into the charge on the night of Dec. 13, hardly
knowing what else to do. One of these men was so much used up in the
charge, that he returned from it leaning on a comrade for support. All,
however, are nuich benefited by the excitement and activity in the city,
since nearly all are suffering, like the writer, from the effects of exposure
and malaria. Being thus '*off duty," the writer on Friday, Sunday and
Monday (12, 14 and 15), visited the various parts of the city.

The city is terribly smashed and shattered. Many buildings have been
burned. Houses, in which shells have burst, are a mere heap of rubbish.
The Baptist church (said to be) has more than thirty holes through it.
Some of the streets are impassable because of the piles of brick, timber,
boards and rubbish. There has been some vandalism, but less than one
would expect. A large jewelry store has been completely cleaned out of
everything worth taking, and the articles scattered. Cheap pins and
buttons are just now fashionable in the army. Everything is done, that
can be, to prevent pillage and destruction. There is a story that one
man on leaving the city buried his valuables, and Westei'n soldiers have
been nosing about extensively, hunting for fresh earth and indications.

A lookout posted in the church belfry are visited by a solid shot from
the enemy which rings the bell, one loud clang, and scares them half out
of their wits for a moment.

The writer takes a fine view far and wide from this church steeple, but
is very much winded by the climbing. An officer at the church door tried
to prevent the visit, but yielded. The great battle-field is in view from
this high steeple. There are puffs of smoke suddenly rising, large and
small, from cannon and musket, in the distance, all along the country
back of the town ; bodies of Union troops are moving towards the front ;
bodies of Confederate troops are moving in rear of their lines, and away
to the right there is heavy musketry firing. In a field, up on the left, a
few hundred, apparently about half a regiment, of our cavalry, dash out
with glistening sabres, and make a sj)irited charge. They are in sight
but a minute, and raise clouds of smoke and dust. Our batteries along
the Falmouth shore are busy and grim, and noisy, in fact there seem to be
hundreds of cannon in play. The enemy's lines on the hill show much
fresh earth, and the enemy are also active and noisy. A battle is a ter-
rible scene ; but a battle-field seen at a distance presents no signs of death.
We do not recognize the wounded, and the dead are not distinguisliable
from the living who are lying still. The writer is admonished that it is
time to go down, and leaves a five-minute view never to see the like again.
Safely down in the streets again he visits the fith N. H., and has a long
chat with Lt. Col. Pearsons ; than whom few better and braver men ever
drew sword in America.

Here and there in the yards about the houses, men are lying, in many

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 77

places half a dozen or more tog-other, with their coat-capes thi'own up over
their faces — dead. A cellar is shown, where a number of women and
children had gone for protection. A shell burst in their midst, not known
whether a rebel or a Union shell ; but upon the occupation of the city
by our troops, it is said that the bodies of ten women and one child were
found here, dead, all killed by pieces of shell. Several women and children
were found alive hidden in cellars ; some in cisterns ; one woman was
found in a well. The enemy left many of their dead, and a few of their
wounded, in the city. A soldier looking for wood in a back yard, in the
dark, stumbles over three dead bodies, and not caring to repeat such an
experience, secures his wood elsewhere. Another Union soldier, on the
same night, looking for wood, finds a long strip of board, places one end
upon a log, and is just in the act of jumping upon it, to break it, when the
log calls out: "What in — are you at?" This was the night of Dec.
11th, dai-k as Egypt. The log, a wounded man, spoke just in the nick
of time. So are the horrid and the ridiculous jumbled together in the
army. About a dozen officers, names not known, sit down to dinner in a
small out-door dining-room with many windows. A shell comes down
through the roof, down through the table, and down through the floor into
a sort of cellar beneath, all done in a twinkling ; about as quickly there is
a row of boots sticking in at the windows, all around the room, as the
officers all scramble out — forthwith. Waiting a little, they reconnoitre,
return within, and finish their dinner. The shell is a rebel solid shot.
Some of the men of the Thirteenth, together with others in the Brigade,
find a spirited Irishwoman, a wild maid of Erin, with huge snaggle teeth,
which sometimes indicate a snaggle temper, and finding a kitchen well
fitted up, ask her to cook some bread for them. She puts her brawny
fists upon her hips, arms akimbo, and swears by all the frogs and snakes
out of Ireland that she is not a cook, and will not cook for ' yes blatherin
Yanks.' They threaten to duck her in the Rappahannock, if she does not
cook immediately. She cooks ; and confesses that she has served as a
cook for some skedaddled city nabob. Her biscuit are excellent.

At dark to-night the Thirteenth moves to the front, and is placed on
the outer picket line, ruiming along the railroad, and in front of it, and
southward on both sides of Hazel Run. Here too the enemy is persist-
ently endeavoring to press our pickets back, and a lively fusillade is kept
up all night. We fully realize the fact that we are a part of the rear-
guard of Gen. Burnside's army in retreat, and that the responsibility and
danger is very great ; a sudden dash of the enemy down that little hill
can capture us all. There is one important idea that rarely gets a firm
lodgment in a soldier's mind, and is a most potent encourager of equanim-
ity : Your enemy is also afraid — of you. More than once during the
night, when the little spurts start up in the firing, chiefly with the few
U. S. Sharp-shooters near us on the line, our men almost instinctively fix
bayonets, in grim determination not to budge an inch if the enemy comes.
These sharp-shooters are the last troops to be withdrawn.

78 thirtp:enth new Hampshire regiment. 1862

A few men who pass the night, where they had been posted by the
officer in charge of the picket, under the shelter of ahttle ridge, where an
old fence had stood, on an otherwise smooth hillside, find that they can-
not rise, when the order comes to withdraw, on account of the enemy's
close fire ; and as the only way to save themselves, they throw their rolls
of blankets, and everything they have to carry, excepting their guns and
the equipments buckled upon their persons, as far as thev can down the
hill, and then go on hands and knees down after them, gather their effects
in a bundle, and move oif as best they may. The writer was one of
these, and recalls the two or three minutes occupied in gaining the cover
of the ridge where the line was waiting, as among the longest minutes he
ever experienced. Two or three of the men rolled down the hill, and all
have a hearty laugh over the little affair as soon as they are safely be-
yond the zip, zip, zip of those bullets. Many of our men near Hazel
Run have nuich more difficulty in getting away.

Dec. 16. Tues. Pleasant morning ; frosty last night. Orders come
to the Thirteenth on the vedette and picket line, a little after midnight, to
prepare for retreat. Bayonets must be hidden in scab])ards, tin dippers
and plates must be covered, so that there may not be the least glitter or
rattle ; guns" must be trailed, or carried lower still as held by the strap ;
the men are to stoop low as they move, and to preserve utter silence, not
a word is to be spoken, but orders passed from man to man in whispers ;
there must be neither sight nor sound of moving. We are finally re-
lieved from picket, a mile or so back of the town, about 3 a. m. Hazel
Run is near by. We are near a high broad ridge, and stooping low.
trailing arms, and filing in right and left, we soon assemble beneath the
ridge and stand there waiting, for some time, in a dead silence. Save
for an occasional rifle shot, the whole land is now as silent and still as
yonder hideous heaps and windrows of the unburied dead, whose white
uncovered faces and torn bodies and limbs fleck the wide, dim and shad-
owy field of death. 'T is an uncanny hour. The dead are everywhere.
We step over and about them. A dozen or two of vedettes,^ a mere thin
fringe of men a rod apart, file towards the left between us and the
enemy's lines, where we can now and then see a head as it comes be-
tween us and the sky ; and where a rebel is occasionally seen to raise his
gun, take deliberate aim at some man he sees moving on our line, and
to fire, and the badly aimed bullet whistles past, harmless, to the earth.
Ticklish business this moving away from the rebel army, now not twenty
rods distant, in full force along their chosen lines and strong defenses.
The night is just passing into the first gray touches of dawn, a few stars
are visible. Gen. Burnside's army is retreating ; the greater part of Gen.
Lee's army is quietly asleep, but can be roused to action in ten minutes,
and throng those near hills and ridges, compelling Burnside to halt, turn
back and join unequal fight ; two armies, two hundred thousand men. are

1 U. S. Sharp-shooters from New Hampshire, E Company. See Adjt. General's
Report, Vol. H. for 1865, page 748.

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 79

now parting company from a terrible and a drawn battle, the Federals
from a field strewn with the mangled bodies of many hundred dead and
unburied comrades ; each of these two huge armies hourly expects the
other to strike again. In the few moments of uncertainty and suspense
while we are slipping away, the scene invites the imagination to indulge
romance ; but the enemy's pickets, who are very near, seeing our vedettes
moving, as now and then their heads appear against the sky, open fire
with vigor, and their vicious bullets zip, zip, zip to the ground about us,
or whistle near over our heads, and we all need our sharpest senses. The
enemy probably supposes that we are merely relieving the guards. No
serious casualty occurs, and all is still again ; a stillness falls that no
man feels like breaking even to save his life. Orders are passed in whis-
pers from man to man and we move again, all stepping so softly that not
a footfall is to be heard. Soon we catch glimpses of the enemy's long
lines of pickets advancing, and firing as they come, then dropping again
out of sight, as the few vedettes on our side rejily ; but we move com-
pactly, cross a muddy brook leading into Hazel Run, breathe freer, march
into the city crookedly along the course of a bank of earth, join the
Brigade, all done in quick step and in silence, cross the muffled pontons,
in a rapid route-step, at 4 a. m., and climb the slippery road up Stafford
Heights, — and thus it was all along his line, changing only with circum-
stance, that Gen. Burnside accomplished one of the most masterly re-
treats, directly from the face of the enemy, ever made in all history —
and that, too, from shore to shore of a rapid river.

In a sudden and severe shower of rain that now comes on, we plod
along over the plain in thin mud three to six inches deep, finally entering
a bit of brush near the place of our old bivouac, and encamping there at
6.30 a. m., about one fourth of a mile north of the Phillips House. The
men of the Reg. were ordei-ed to take sundry supplies -with them as they
left the city ; rations, equipage and stores being piled on the sidewalks
where we passed along, with much other army gear ; and many a stray
roll of blankets, or of old tents, serve them well in the winter camj) that
follows. Two zealous men of the loth start from town with a cracker-
box between them half filled with sugar. The rain and the sugar find in
each other a sweet and juicy affinity, and when the leaky box is opened
in camp, there is about a pint of syrup and dregs in one corner. A
few boxes of hard tack come into camp, pulp ; and as for sundry lots of
coffee taken along, it arrives, second-hand — Fredericksburg was an
awful failure.

" Companies B, C, and H arrive in camp about 9 a. m. These three
Companies were stationed on the outer picket line, on the R. & F. R. R.,
just where it crosses Hazel Run ; Co. B to the right of the railroad
bridge, north, and C and H to the left of the bridge, south. Here they
held the enemy's pickets back while the rest of Getty's Division evacuated
the lower end of the city, and retired across the river. Company H,
which I was with and commanding, was the most exposed, and came near

80 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

being left behind, on their i)icket posts, after all the other troops had re-
tired, and are now the last Company to rejoin the Regiment in camp."

Lt. Col. Smith.

First Sergeant William H. McConney of C and a few other men
stopped in the city for tents and stores to bring to camp, and when they
reached the ponton bridge the last boat had swung from its moorings into
the stream, and the delayed party had to wade into the river until the
water was up to their waists, before they reached the boat and could be
pulled into it ; the last men of the 13th to leave Fredericksburg.

Our retreat this morning over the central ponton bridge occupies less
than two hours for the whole force ; in which two hours above 16,000 troops,
not to mention unorganized parties, of pioneers, bands and other unarmed
men, cross in perfect order. The bridge is muffled with earth three or
four inches in depth, and the men march across in the route-step. It
must not be foi-gotten that the enemy's guns have completely commanded
this bridge, a portion only being hidden by buildings, none of which are
proof against cannon balls. ^ The crossing in retreat is made under the
personal supervision of Major Hiram B. Crosby, of the 21st Conn., Pro-
vost Marshal of the 9th Army Corps, who has sat on his horse near the
bridge, and given the necessary orders to each regimental commander as
he passed. " A strong southwest wind blows to-night, 15th, wafting the
sound of our army's tramp on this bridge, and the rumble of wagons and
artillery, away from the enemy."

Hosp. Steward Royal B. Prescott writes of the battle under date of Dec.
18, 1862, and later (condensed) : " The order ' ForAvard ' came to our
Brigade, while we were on the river bank, at thirty minutes past four.
We went (along the wharf) up the river bank, across the streets, out at
the back of the town, down a very steep bank, across a field, up the rail-
road bank, across the track, on the double quick, with the bullets flying
about us. At the railroad we came up in the rear of a regiment, or
body of zouaves, lying flat on their faces against the railroad embank-
ment, and we ran directly over them, while they swore at and reviled us
without stint, saying, among other things, ' See these countiymen ! They
have not got the hayseed out of their hair yet.' Their officers cursed
them, struck them with their swords, harangued, urged and scolded, but
could not get the men upon their feet, and I do not think those men ever
crossed the railroad at all.

" Surgeon Twitchell was in Washington, Asst. Surgeon Richardson de-
tailed on the amputating staff to remain in the city, and the Hospital
corps was headed by our Asst. Surgeon Sullivan, and halted near the
railroad. The Band went forward and returned with some wounded
men. Turning for the bag of bandages, brought on the field by our con-
traband. I discovered that he had skedaddled, bandages and all. I dis-
patched one of the nurses for him, and the nurse returned with the ban-
dages but not the negro. Our Brigade after crossing the railroad were
^ See interview with Gen. McLaws, page 72.

1862

BATTLE OF FREDPnilCKSBURG. 81

ordered to charge on a rebel battery just across the field. Away they
went with a yell right up to the earthworks, where they were repulsed by
the rebel infantry behind a stone wall. As the wounded were brought
back, we were positively forbidden to light a candle or even a match. It
was now quite dark. That charge ended the fight of the day. We of
the Hospital Dept. remained on the field until midnight, by which time all
of our wounded, who could be found, were brought in, carried on stretch-
ers to the ambulances, and thence to the city. I was in charge of the Band
and stretcher men all that night, and when the Regiment withdrew from
the field, Col. Stevens told me to take a lantern and look among the dead
and take the names of any of our Reg. I might find and do what I could
for them, and adding that in the morning there would be a flag of truce
and ambulances to take them away. Charles W. Green of Company B
was alone with me in this work. We found Lieut. Shaw and Capt. Car-
ter, and several men. I finally extinguished the light in my lantern after
being sworn at by our wounded men on the field for drawing the ene-
my's fire. We worked until the morning was well advanced.

" Sunday I was in the Hospitals. Surgeons with sleeves rolled up, with
bloody arms and hands, were busy with saw and knife. Arms and legs
were scattered about the floor, and streams of blood flowing in all
directions. The streets were crowded with troops and hospital flags were
flying from the windows of houses. The Surgeons went across the river
Sunday noon, and I was left with about fifty sick and wounded men to
cross at night. I remained in the city until 4.30 a. m. Tuesday 16th,
and then started the nurses, the sick, the Band, and the stretcher men
across the river. The rebels stripped all our dead of everything, leaving
them lying naked on the ground.

"My experience with the Band of the Thirteenth on this occasion was
exciting. The Thirteenth, I believe, was the last regiment (or regi-
mental organization) to I'e-cross the central ponton bridge, the pioneers
waiting for us before taking up the planks and releasing the boats. As
we marched through the city our jjrogress was lighted up by the flames of
huge stacks of provisions burning in the streets, having been set on fire
to prevent their falling into rebel hands. As we neared the river some
one cried out, ' Where 's the Band ? ' The question was taken up and
ran rapidly through the ranks, ' Where 's the Band ? ' ' Where 's the
Band ? ' No one could tell. In the hurry no one had taken any thought
of the musicians, and it was certain they were in the city. At length some
one remembered seeing the bass drum standing outside one of the negro
huts in rear of the house occupied by Col. Stevens. Turning to me, the
Colonel ordered me to go back quickly, and hasten the Band down to the
river. I flew back with all speed through the deserted city, and as I did
so the moon shone brightly out from masses of dark clouds, revealing
with horrible distinctness the ghastly faces of the rebel dead strewn
thickly about. I finally reached the house, and to my great joy saw
the bass drum standing just outside the door of one of the negro quar-

82 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

ters. I pounded on the closed door with might and main, and shouted
to the sleejjers within to arouse and bestir themselves or they would all
be taken i>risoners. For a little time there was no response, but as the
j)()unding continued, a drowsy voice at length asked : ' AVhat is want-
ed ? ' I answered : ' Get up, quick, or you will all be made prison-
ers. The army is all across the river and you are here alone ! ' As this
was taken as a joke, the sleepy voice replied, requesting me to go to sun-
dry places much warmer than Fredericksburg, and again all was quiet.
I then seized a large stone and hurled it with all my strength against the
door, which tore it from its hinges and it fell with a loud crash upon the
floor. This brought every man at once to his feet ; and when the situa-
tion was fairly comprehended by their lethargic brains, the ' hurrying to
and fro ' was lively indeed. A few of tliem almost forgot to take their
instruments, while the time made to the central ponton bridge was one
of the quickest on record." Prescott.

And so ends the first battle fought by the Thirteenth — a failure in
every respect ; and -the ranks of the Reg. are thinned by losses, in killed,
wounded, and prisoners, of three officers, and thirty-nine men. To add
to our vexation, a lot of the men's knapsacks and their contents, left
here at the bivouac near the Phillips House while we were in the city, are
soaking wet, through and through ; and many have been pilfered of
articles of especial value to the owners, and there are murmurings loud
and deep. Our experiences, all through, are outrageous and exasperating
to the last degree, and now we camp, wet, cold, ugly and tired out, in
the nastiest of nasty Virginia mud. A third of the men, and eleven
officers, are unfit for duty, sick. One tiling, however, we shall never
forget: We of Gen. Getty's Division and of Col. Hawkins' Brigade
made the most hopeless and the last infantry charge in the battle, the
closing charge of the Battle of Fredericksburg.

The chief day in the battle was Saturday December 13, when the roar
of the firing commenced at 9 a. m. and continued almost unceasing until
the charge of Gen. Getty's Division brought on its most furious thunders
at early night. After this charge the firing ceased. Meanwhile for over
eight hours our Division stood between the artillery fires of the two
armies, exposed to much of both. The battle of Saturday raged for ten
hours, counting from beginning to close. That the losses in the Thir-
teenth during the charge in the night were no gi-eater may be counted
as one of the fortunes of war ; and attributed in great measure to the
fact that the rebel infantry fired high and wild. W^e could see their
heads and arms above the stone wall along the Telegraph road, and they
worked wnth the utmost rapidity, as if number of shots, and not accuracy
of aim, was the first consideration ; and we could hear their officers
urging and hurrying them during the whole of their firing.

One writer states (in corroboration) that the Thirteenth with its
Brigade held the lower part of the city on the night of Dec. 11 ; in the
charge on the evening of Dec. 13, of Hawkins' and Harland's Brigades,

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 83

Hawkins formed his Brigade in two lines, the Thirteenth on the right
of the second line ; Hawkins assaulted, and Harland remained near the
railroad in reserve ; a terrific volley was received when our lines, in the
charge, came up to within a few yards of the enemy's works at the
point aimed at ; and on the night of Dec. 15, while Gen. Getty's Divi-
sion retreated across the river, the Thirteenth held the outer jjicket line
on both sides of Hazel Run and along the railroad, and lively firing was
kept up with the enemy's pickets during the latter part of the night.

The following, from Rev. Augustus Woodbury's " Burnside and the
Ninth Array Corps," may be of mterest. General Burnside organized
the Army of the Potomac in three Grand Divisions of two corps each :
left, Franklin ; centre. Hooker ; right, Sumner. (The 13th in Sumner's
Grand Division.) On Dec. 10, the morning report gives the force of the
army as 111,834 officers and men, and 312 guns. Of these Sumner's
Grand Division numbers 22,736 officers and men, and 60 guns, and con-
sists of the 9th Corps, Gen. Wilcox, and 2d Corps, Gen. Couch.
Wilcox's division commanders were Generals Getty, Sturgis and Burns.
About 100,000 officers and men of the Union army actually engaged in
the battle. The battle opened early on the morning of Dec. 11, and
after several attempts to build the central ponton bridge had failed,
owing to the severe rebel fire, the attempts being made while the bom-
bardment was going on, volunteers from the 7th Michigan, ]9th and
20th Massachusetts Regts. crossed in boats, the oOth N. Y. furnishing
oarsmen. A party from the 89th N. Y. also crossed. After a half
hour's fight, under the eye of Gen. Burnside himself now down on the
river bank, the city was captured about four o 'clock in the afternoon.

The bridges were now quickly completed, and our 1st Brigade, Col.
Hawkins, was the first to cross into the city over the central bridge.
Gen. Sumner's Grand Division crossed on the 12th. In the disposi-
tions, our 9th Corps on its left connected with Gen. Franklin's right.
During the battle Gen. Sumner's Hdqrs. were at the Lacy House ; Gen.
Burnside's at the Phillips House, which was Gen. Sumner's Hdqrs. after
the battle. Gen. Sumner's Grand Division was to move out on the
Telegraph and Plank roads. Gen. Longstreet's Corps occupied Marye's
Heights, on which we charged.

On Dec. 13th, the 9th Corps, Wilcox, held the line from the vicinity
of Hazel Run south towards Deep Run. Gen. Burns' division on the
left, Gen. Getty's in the centre. Gen. Sturgis on the right. Gen. Stur-
gis' division was sent into the fight about noon, to the right, to support
Gen. Couch of the 2d Corps, and advanced and held their ground until
night. Sturgis withdrew about 7.30 p. m. About 3 p. m. Gen. Burns'
division crossed Deep Run, in support of Gen. Franklin, and could do
little but to stand and look on.

Gen. Getty's division, in which the Thirteenth, was held in reserve all
day, as a guard to the left of the town ; about sundown it moved out,
and was formed in two lines under fire, crossed the plain, the R. & F.

84 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

Railroad, the canal trench (the unfinished railroad), and some marshy
ground, and gained a position on the left of Couch's 2d Corps line,
and within less than a hundred feet of the enemy's strongest position.
Here a severe fire of the enemy's musketry was added to the artillery,
and the first line, Col. Hawkins' Brigade, was forced hack under a storm
of fire in front and flank. The second line. Col. Harland's Brigade,
advanced through a heavy fire of shell and shrapnel to within a short
distance from the R. & F. Railroad. Night then settled down. Half a
mile beyond the city, the Telegraph road diverges to the left, turning
southward. A handsome estate (Marye's) is above this road, near the
northern extremity of the first fortified line of hills. The grounds are
supported, where they come down to this road, by a heavy bank-wall of
stone. On the side (of the road) opposite the same, and toward the
city, is a similar wall of stone, in length nearly half a mile. The Tele-
graph road, after leaving the Plank road, winds along the edge of the
second terrace (or ridge of hills) southward, and crosses Hazel Run,
thence turns westward into the country beyond. The lawn in front of
the Marye mansion was crossed by a line of rifle-pits, and in the southerly
part of the grounds was a small redoubt. There were other earthworks
on the northerly and westerly side of the Plank road.

At night immediately after Gen, Getty's assault. Gen. Burnside re-
turned to his tent, firmly resolved to renew the battle on the subsequent
day. On the morning of the 14th he selected and formed a column of
eighteen regiments, of the Ninth Corps, and decided to direct their
assault on Marye's Heights in person. Listening to the persuasions and
arguments of his Grand Division Commanders, he countermanded the
orders, and the attempt was not made.

The losses reported, in these five days of battle, in officers and men,
are, killed, 1,339. Wounded, 9,060. Missing and prisoners, 1,530.
Total, 11,929. The enemy's total loss, 5,309. The enemy having the
advantage in position, and fighting almost wholly behind entrenchments
or natural cover, while the Union Army assailed his positions from open
ground.

Lossing states that the Confederate army numbered 80,000 strong,
with 300 cannon. The Union losses were, in Hooker's Grand Division,
3,548, Franklin's 4,679, Sumner's 5,494, with 50 engineers. Killed
1,152, wounded 9,101, missing 3,234, total 13,487. The Confederate
loss was about half that of the Union loss.

Capt. F. Phisterer gives the Union losses : killed 1,180, wounded
9,028, missing 2,145, total 12,353. Total Confederate losses 4,576.

The accounts are thus seen to differ somewhat, but the Union loss may
be placed roundly at 12,000 men, and the Confederate loss at about one
half that number. It may be proper to add here that the items on
page 71, drawn from Confederate official reports, were written in 1884,
and the maps, and their descriptions, were made in 1885 ; both long
previous to any of the recent (1886-7) popular publications relating to
this battle.

1862 BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 85

Confederate Gen. James Longstreet's account in the Century of Au-
gust 1886, with accompanying map, phices the charge of Gen. Getty's
Division as follows : from the south side of the R. & F. Raiboad, well
down towards Hazel Run, across the meadows lying along the north side
of that Run, across tlie trenches of the unfinished railroad (but no canal),
to the portion of the plateau southwest of the brick house, and to the
southwest end of that plateau where it reaches up to the Telegraph road
and the stone bank-wall along the side of it — the course of the south
arrow on his map. All this in direct corroboration of the location of
the position, as seen by the writer on the night of the charge and remem-
bered clearly, and also recognized by him on visiting the spot in May
1885, and of the statements made to the writer by Gen. Getty.

Gen. Longstreet states that there were over seven thousand Federals,
kUled and wounded, lying in front of Marye's Hill.

" Nearly all the dead were stripped entirely naked by the enemy.
A woman who lived in one of the houses near the stone wall said : " The
morning after the battle the field was blue ; but the morning after the
Federals withdrew the field was white." Century.

The legend of poetry, romance and horror will cling in the popular
imagination to the battle of Fredericksburg forever, notwithstanding all
its failures ; for its figures and scenes were large and bold, its actors
courageous in the extreme, their experiences pitiable to the last degree,
and unfortunate beyond compare ; while local superstition peoples the
battle-ground with visiting myriad ghosts of the fierce combatants. The
Confederate glory, however, of having l^en behind that stone bank-wall,
in comjjarative safety and unpressed, and in numbers sufficient to over-
whelm easily any force of the Union army that could approach, pales
into utter insignificance beside the picture of Gen. Barksdale's men fight-
ing among the buildings in Fredericksburg, for many hours on Dec. 11,
while Gen. Burnside's batteries were knocking the whole city about their
ears, and firing it also in many places. This was coui'age ; only equaled
by the repeated dashes of the Union troops against the stone bank-wall
at the foot of Marye's Hill.

Dec. 17. Wed. Cold, raw. Reg. in camp, and a miserable camp
at that, trying to get dry and warm. There is still considerable firing
going on across the river, between the Union and Confederate artillery ;
and occasionally a stray shell from Marye's Heights flies screaming high
and wild over our camp, stirring up the Virginia mud in the distance.
We march down near the river about opposite the centre of the city, and
support a battery. Pass the night on the frozen ground, without shelter,
and in the teeth of the raw, chilling north wind. Two or three Com-
panies from the 13th have this experience every night. The boys find a
large potato field, near the batteries, belonging to some careless farmer
who harvested only about two thirds of his crop, and we rapidly appro-
priate what the farmer left. The writer has occasion to visit camp to-

86 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

day from the batteries, and while going across lots to save distance,
observes quite a large white pile of something not far away, somewhat
flat and irregular. Curious to see what it is, he goes nearer, and finds
it a collection of human legs, arms, hands and feet — one view like that
is enough for a lifetime.

" Charles Leathers of Co. F was severely wounded Dec. 13, and lost
his gun ; but when brought into camj) in the ambulance, he had with
him about thirty pounds of vei'y excellent tobacco, all of which was pur-
chasi'd by the men of Co. F at a good price." Lieut. Young.

Dec. 18. Thurs. Cold, with some snow. Reg. in camp, if we may
call it such a nice name. Came here about 4 p. m. to-day. A deep
hollow, a long densely wooded ravine, in rear of the Falmouth batteries,
and fidl of soldiers ; multitudes of little fires fill the air with smoke, and
the boys call this place " Smoky Hollow." This is the headquarters of
the pickets, and about one mile nearer the city by the road, than our
camp north of the Phillij^s House. A large detail from the Union army,
several men in it from the 13th, one of them George E. Garland of E,
unarmed and provided with ])icks and shovels, go over on the battle-field
to-day and bury the Union dead. The men of the 13th help bury about
700 bodies. The enemy have stripped the dead of every article of cloth-
ing fit for use, and the bodies are laid away in their last resting place,
merely thinly covered with such pieces of blankets or clothing as can be
found. So say the men of the 13th burial party.

As a matter of actual measurement some of the dead of the Thirteenth
are found, lying where they fell, within forty yards, 120 feet, of the
muzzles of the enemy's cannon, Col. Alexander's.^ A statement is going
the rounds of our camp, that the enemy also stripped the clothing from
some of our men, who were very badly wounded, while they were stiU
alive, and so left them to die, in the sharp December air, without cloth-
ing, shelter, attention or care ; as was clearly evident from the marks
made by these severely wounded men, in the earth where they lay, after
they had been stripped of their clothing. One soldier of the 13th who
helped bury the dead says : " Among about seven hundred bodies of our
men, who were buried by us, scarcely one had any clothing on which was
fit to be worn ; all were stripped."

Dec. 19. Fri. Very cold. Thirteenth at work on camp. A large
detail on picket near the siege guns on Falmouth bluffs. These men
lay on the ground last night while ice formed, over the puddles of water
beside them, half an inch thick. The reserve bivouacs in Smoky Hollow.
Fiom these guns there is a fine, extended view of the city, and of the

^ It is claimed that some bodies, of men belonging to Gen. French's Division, were
found nearest of any to the stone wall. It should be borne in mind that Gen.
Getty's Division charged upon the southwest end of the stone wall, where the road
turns the corner westward ; while French's Division had charged upon a portion of
the stone wall a long way to the north and east of Getty, and near the brick house,
and the several roads leading up to the hill where Marye's house stood.

1862 BATTLE OF FKEDKllICKSBURG. 87

enemy's lines on the hills beyond. Almost every house in the city
has smoke issuing from the chimney. More than one family on return-
inar must have found things mixed, even if their house was not smashed
to flinders and blown all over the neighborhood.

A great deal of adverse criticism is made upon the bombardment of
Fredericksburg, and it is well to state that a demand had been made for
its surrender, and had been refused ; anijjle time was given for the re-
moval of all the unarmed people, nearly all of them had abandoned the
city, and the city was used by the enemy for direct military purposes ;
the houses were used to protect the enemy's sharp-shooters. Gen. Barks-
dale's men, who three or four times drove our pontonniers, with heavy
loss, from the ponton bridge they were trying to build, — the fire of our
artillery was directed chiefly upon these buildings. Gen. Burnside took
unwilling command of the Army of the Potomac, by peremptory order,
after he had twice declined ; his pontons required for crossing the
Rappahannock to the city were delayed until nearly two weeks had
passed after Gen. Sumner's advance had reached Falmouth, for which
delay Gen. Burnside was in no way responsible ; meanwhile the enemy's,
garrison in the city was largely re-enforced, and Gen Lee, divining Gen-
Burnside's purpose, had started his whole army for the heights in rear
of the city and vicinity, and a large force had arrived and entrenching
begun. The failure of the arrival of the pontons lost to Northern arms
the battle of Fredericksbm'g, " and soaked the streets and lanes of the
city with Federal blood."

Gen. Lee had an army 2:)resent of 80,000 men, and held Marye's
Heights with a triple line of works ; while the hills, canals, railroad, and
the famous Stone Wall, combined, made his position impregnable to
assault. The special advantages of his position could not possibly be
known to Gen. Burnside. " When our troops found, on the morning
of Dec. 16, that Gen. Burnside had retreated across the river, it was a
matter of amazement to the whole rebel army." (Confed.)

Dec. 20. Sat. Very cold. Quarter-master Cheney and Capt. Stood-
ley rejoin the Reg. The Government furnishes a lot of woolen mittens
for the men ; slack-twisted, loose knit things, consisting of a wrist, a
thumb, a hand, a forefinger cot, and a bag, for the other three fingers,
shaped like a mule's jaw, and about as large. The men are on short
rations now, and have been since the battle.

Dec. 21. Sun. Cold. A part of the Reg., a different detail every
night, go out on the bank of the river to support a battery. We lie there
on the bleak plain, with no shelter, tents or protection of any kind, and
no fires allowed, the weather extremely cold and a high wind blowing
from the north. This is our experience these winter nights. A native
gives distance in this way : " Right smart go — er'ekn ; 'bout three
screams and a holler."

Company — , said to be K, loses two kettles of baked beans at Smoky
Hollow. In any Regiment except the moral Thirteeeth they would

88 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

be reported stolen, but here as lost in action. The top joke of the
affair is the investigation. A number of men are called up, and have
their breath smelled, to detect the odor of baked beans ; and this, too,
before any of the beans have been eaten. After this conclusive test, the
men, who saved i\\e beans after they were lost, warm them over and eat
them. It is wickedly reported that Company E loans the fire with
which to warm the beans, but no one knows who caused them to be lost.
Beans baked with pork always cause trouble.

Dec. 22. Mon. Terribly cold last night. The ground freezes be-
side the men as they lay, and the pools of water near are covered with
ice. Again our pickets have no fires, except now and then a little one,
and no shelter at all. Two severe nights. Reg. assembles early this
morning at its camp in Smoky Hollow, where we can cook and eat
breakfast. We leave this camp for our permanent winter camp this
afternoon ; arriving there about dark, and too late to see well enough to
properly pitch our shelter tents. '' We remained in Smoky Hollow,
about one mile from camp, near Falmouth depot, three days, returning
to our regular camp to-night." Albion J. Jenness.

CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG.

Dec. 23. Tues. Cold, clear. The Thirteenth wakes up this morn-
ing in Falmouth Camp, the which no man of the army ever can forget.
It soon rejoices in the appropriate names of " Foulmouth Camp," and
" Hell-mouth Camp." This morning is very frosty and sharp. Ice
formed thick last night, and we make holes through it, on the brook near
by, to obtain water for cooking and washing ; no other water to be had
anywhere near camp this morning. No place here for squeamish stom-
achs ; these pieces of yellow soap (rebel) on these sticks were put here a
few months ago, and have been washing into the brook in every rain
since that time. That dog's bones have evidently been here in the brook
for several months also — pretty white and clean now. That kitchen-
midden stuff yonder also improves the water. On the whole a fine place
to procure water for coffee, cooking and bathing ; rebel soap, rebel dog,
rebel wash-tub. Rations poor, quarters poorer, men sick, great discon-
tent, and suffering beyond mention. Our camp rises into a vast city of
miserable hovels and tents, containing a hundred thousand inhabitants
in evei-y stage of sickness and misery, where for month in and month out
no white woman or child is to be seen. Division Insi)ection, and Review
of the 9th Army Corps, is made to-day by Gen. Sunmer.

Dec. 24. Wed. Cold, very. We are near the Phillips House? near
and on a part of the same camp ground we occupied Dec. 16, and very
near where we sjient the night of Dec. 10, just before entering Fdsbg.
That city is in full view from a point near the camp of the Thirteenth.
Almost every night two companies of the 13th go out on picket. No
firing on the picket lines. Should the enemy fire upon our men now,

1862 CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG. 89

our batteries would instantly shell the city. This commands a peace.
Here are two huge armies, each of nearly 100,000 men, and each aiming
for the other's destruction, encamped side by side, a narrow river only
separating them ; one is afraid to move, the other dare not, neither can,
and so they stay, and keep as quiet as a New England village on Sunday.
The })ickets frequently cross the river, both ways, antl fraternize.

Five or six hundred yards northwest of the Phillips House, that is to
the right of the Phillips House as one looks down the road toward Fred-
ericksburg (and directly on the line between the Phillips House and
the Clews House situated a mile or two to the northwest of it), a ravine
in the field falls to the right, and northward to a brook ; the first ravine
to the westward and the first brook to the northward of the Phillips
House. This ravine was the roadway from camp to the White Oak road
running into the city past the Phillijjs House. Prof. Lowe had his bal-
loon in this ravine a little south of the brook, and we will therefore call
it Lowe's Ravine. This brook is the south branch of Claiborne Run ; the
R. & F. Railroad following the north branch through the bluffs. Go
down Lowe's Ravine northward to the brook, turn to the right and follow
the brook back eastward up into the country. Just north of the brook is
a wide strip of ground sloping southward to the brook and draining into
it ; really the south slope of the ridge next north of the ridge on which
the Phillips House stands. This whole slope is checkered with tent cel-
lars, mixed up, and angling in every direction, as the contour and drain-
age of the land demanded. Three or four hundred yards up the brook
eastward from where Lowe's Ravine and the brook meet is an irregular
cluster of tent cellars. The company tents on the north side of the brook
looking eastwartlly, and the tents of the field and staflE on the east side.
The brook here turns somewhat towards the north. The ends of the
company, or rather division, streets are widest down near the brook, and
narrower where they rise upon the slope ; though on the whole quite
irregular, and thrown upon the curve of the slope something like the ribs
of a huge fan. This is the camp of the Thirteenth N. H. Vols.

Company E, the fifth (5th) company from the right of the Regiment,
was located on the left, or east side, as one looks towards the brook, of a
very deep gully, twelve feet deep at least, extending down towards the
brook ; tlie only very deep gully, and the deepest, in the 13th camp,
and was called Capt. Julian's ' hole in the ground.' The writer had his
tent under a large pine-tree on the east side of this gully, and near the
head of it. Cajjt. Julian's tent was at the head of the gully, across,
northward. From the position of Company E on the east side of this
deep gully and quite prominent landmark, the huddled tents of the
Regiment can be made out. The whole camp-ground is now (1885) cov-
ered with a vigorous growth of young trees. The Thirteenth encamped
here quite closely massed in divisions, the right of the Regiment to the
westward, all facing southward and eastward, and was not crowded upon
by the tents of other regiments. Cross the brook eastward and you

90 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

come upon the cellars of the huts of the field and staff officers, where
the earth was ridged up around the log walls of the miserahle quarters
to keep water out of the cellars, and from the earth floors of the huts. The
Hospital tent was on the hill just north of the centre of the line of the
company quarters, nearly north of Co. E. Here the many sick men, who
could do so, went every morning to receive their allopathic doses ; ho-
moeopathic practice heing unknown in the army — unless medical supplies
ran short. The regimental parade ground was an old cornfield a little
northwest, that is to the right and rear, of the camp, and almost exactly
due north of the Phillips House. The ground rose gradually northward
from the hrook, past the camp, to this parade ground, from which a large
part of Fredericksburg became visible as the forest fell.

Firewood for camp was obtained from the low ground lying north and
west of this old cornfield, some of it brought from a distance of more
than a mile on the shoulders of the men. Dry Avood was very scarce.
The most popular wood was dead laurel, standing densely along the brooks
and forks of Claiborne Run ; and hundreds of the roots were carved
into tobacco pipes by the men. The Thirteenth was crowded upon a
small space near the bend in the brook ; and more than one member of
the Reg., and one of the non-commissioned staff in particular, will dis-
tinctly remember how an ill-considered leap across this brook resulted in
an involuntary and splashing sit-down in it, soiled clothes — and com-
ments on the margin. However, it was a most convenient brook, the
water in it perhaps averaging two feet in width by six inches in depth.
The men and officers performed their morning toilets here, long rows of
them about daybreak ; muddy boots, smutty kettles, and soiled clothing
were scrubbed here ; and some huge fools used the water for cooking
until strict orders were set to the contrary. 'T was a rich and busy
brook of real Virginia water. The camp of the 4th R. I. Vols, was
eastward of the field and staff of the Thirteenth, and to the eastward,

DESCKIPTION OF MAP.

A. Rappahannock River. B. Richmond & Fredericksburg R. R.

C. Orange Turnpike, or White Oak road, passing the Phillips House N.

D. Major Lacy. H. Hoffman. N. Phillips House.

F. Ruins of a house. G. Roy. K. Claiborne Run.

P. Road to central ponton bridge.

L. Ravine in field where Prof. Lowe had his balloons.

E. Wood road leading from Phillii)s House and passing north of the

camp of the Thirteenth, to Thirstley's house half a mile distant.
M. Camp of Thirteenth, company tents. R. Tents of Thirteenth,

field and staff. S. Camp of the 4th R. I. Regiment.

T. Fredericksburg. V. Stafford Heights.

The whole region about Claiborne Run is rough and timbered, but

the timber is most dense near the part of the Run north of the

Phillips House.

CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG, Winter of 1862-3.

Tracing of Official Map. Scale, three inches to one mile. With points located by the writer in

May 1885.

1862 CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG. 93

rather than northward, of the Phillips House. The land occupied hy
them being a little higher than the land occupied by the Thirteenth.
While visiting the camp, in May 1885, the writer found a mass of iron
filings, nails, etc., all concreted by the rust, on the spot where Lowe's
balloon was located, and supposed to be some of the ballast or weights
used during the ascents of the balloon.^ It was partly buried in the earth,
but after some digging, and pounding with a stone, a piece of the mass
was secured, and brought home. Many old jiieces of canteens, remains
of chimneys, tin cups, and other cam}) debris are still to be found about
our old camping ground, but nearly wasted by the rust and exposure of
these many years.

Dec. 25. Thurs. Chilly. The Reg. goes on picket for 24 hours.
Yesterday the 13th turned out only about 200 men for Battalion drill,
fewer still are fit for active duty to-day. It is fearful to wake here at
night, and to hear the sounds made by the men about you. All night
long the sounds go up of men coughing, breathing heavy and hoarse with
half choked throats, moaning, and groaning with acute pain. A great
deal of sickness and suffering on all sides, and little help here, near or
in the future. This camp of 100,000 men is practically a vast hospital.
Twelve men of Co. G are sick with the measles — now ejjidemic in camp.

Dec. 26. Fri. Fine day. Cold. The men endeavor to fix up their
quarters a little ; the day being set apart for the purpose of putting logs
under the tents. The mud is everywhere, and we are in it all the day,
and not much better situated at night. Our tents are too small for
fires inside, though a few manage to have them ; the wood is wet or green
and the fires smoky. We build large fires outside our tents, and stand
around them, in the vain endeavor to get dry and warm. Food is scanty,
and poorly cooked at best ; smoky, scorched, stewed, greasy. All is
damp and cold, and sleep where we will, we wake stiff and rheumatic.
New Hampshire is well represented here ; her 2d, 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th,
11th, 12th and 13th Regts. are encamped within a circuit of less than
two miles, and all very similarly situated.

The Thirteenth left New Hampshire with 1,040 men, but now numbers
less than 400 effectives, and few of these are really well men. Disease
kills more than bullets. An average of 250 men of the Thirteenth at-
tend the morning Surgeons' call, besides the sick in hospital. Flour is
selling in camp at the rate of $25 per barrel. Butter costs 85 cents a pound.
A Captain in the 13th closes a letter late to-night with these words, a
volume in a sentence, for it is the experience of hundreds, and a picture
of the way we live, as there are no fires in our tents : " Good night ; I
must now go out of my tent to the fire and warm a plate of beans to eat,
so as not to go to bed hungry." " Capt. Julian.

Dec. 27. Sat. Pleasant. Reg. still at work on camp, and trying to
bring it into passable order, a difficult job. The ground is a rough hill-
side among pines, is much cut up by ravines or gullies, and falls to a dirty,
^ Possibly remains of material used in the manufacture of gas.

94 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1862

iTuuldy brook. One huge gully, 12 to 15 feet deep, directly west of Co.
E, is the recej)tacle for all sorts of camp waste. There can be on this
camp ground neither order nor regularity. Capt. Stoodley is selected
to straighten out the crooked lines of tents, huts, and does his best, but it
is of little use. Lt. Col. Bowei's and Chaplain Jones, for the sake of a
joke, accuse Capt. Stoodley of adopting, for this camp, the ground plan
of Marblehead, Mass. ; but the plat of that tangle-jointed town is out-
done here in spite of all engineering.

The men of the 13th persist in declaring that many men of the 25th
New Jersey laid down early in the assault, on the evening of Dec. 13,
and that we ran over them ; and the outcome is a decided coldness be-
tween the men of these two regiments. There is danger of a fight over
the affair. Threats are freely indulged in. An unprofitable squabble.

Dec. 28. Sun. Pleasant. Religious service at 11 a. m. One ofiicer
in the 13th writes home : " I never more shall roam ; never more shall
have a Western, or any other, fever ; have come to the conclusion that
New England is the Garden of Eden." A jirivate writes home : " Cap-
tain Julian, demanding more rations for his men, got into a spat with Col.
Stevens, threw down his sword, and threatened to resign."

An old cherry-tree, that was standing on the Washington farm opposite
Fredericksburg, has been nearly all cut in pieces and carried away by the
Union soldiers. Some one has said that this is the original tree of the
famous hatchet story, and there are many credulous enough to believe it.
Cherry stones from that locality, to plant at home, are in great demand.
The wood of the tree is used to make all sorts of crosses, pijjes, rings,
etc., that can be sent away by mail.

Dec. 29. Mon. Cold. Reg. drilling all day. At midnight orders
are received for the Thirteenth to be ready to move to-morrow morning
at daylight, in light marching order, with thi-ee days' cooked rations and
sixty rounds of ball-cartridge per man. Cooks are hurried out of bed,
fires are lighted, and Sergeants are set at work to see that all their squads
of men are ready ; and there is a busy stir and bustle all over camp for
the rest of the night, while the men shout and cheer at the good news of
a move from this locality, however temporary the absence may be.

Board at the officer's mess costs from two to three dollars per week —
and much serious indigestion ; no luxui'ies are to be had and supplies are
scant and poor. All the regimental hosjiitals in our Brigade are filled to
overflowing, and a steamboat load of sick men is sent to Washington in
charge of Asst. Surgeon Sullivan.

Dec. 30. Tues. Cold. Reg. ready to move at daylight, but no
order arrives ; disappointment prevails, and we remain under arms all
day. Writes one man of the 13th : " A small amount of wheat flour stole
into camp the other day ; i)rice of a peep at the stranger, twenty -five
cents." A soldier of the 13th, careless of his clothes, reniarks concerning
an extra smirch of dirt upon them : " Oh, that '11 wash off." A Sergeant
in re\Ay delivers a volume of wisdom in a sentence : " The best way, sir,
to wash off dirt, is not to get it on."

18G3 CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG. 95

Dec. 31. Wed. Very cold. Reg. mustered for pay, by Col. A. F.
Stevens, in the forenoon. " Mustered for pay " is an agreeable expres-
sion, indicating much prospective pleasure, and to some persons whiskey
straight, but in the preparation of the muster and pay rolls there is a vast
amount of tribulation for the company commanders ; as much fuss is
made over ten percussion caps, three bullets and a gun-plug, as over a
park of lost artilleiy. In the afternoon our whole Regiment goes down
to the river on the picket line at the highway bridge. This bridge, of
which only the abutments remain, s])anned the river at Brown's Island,
on the road leading to Orange Court House.

The writer, who wears heavy boots, wades into the river just south of
the bridge to-day to get a shining object seen upon the river bottom. He
has not taken five steps into the very shallow water before the rebel picket
guard, on the Fredericksburg shore, turns out under arms. He retreats
instanter, of course, while our own pickets shout with laughter, echoed in
louder tones by the rebel pickets. The shining thing is fished out, how-
ever, after night comes on, and pi'oves to be a highly polished brass orna-
ment for some piece of furniture.

1863.

Jan. 1. Thiirs. Clear, cold and windy. Thermometer near down to
zero. Reg. on picket on the banks of the I'iver opposite the city. The
men sleep, while here, on the ground close down to the water, and with-
out fires or shelter. While the clock in the old church steeple over in
the city struck the hour of twelve, midnight, hard-hearted wags waked the
half frozen sleepers ; merely to wish them a " Happy New Year," and
elicit sundry remarks. We lie about near the abutments of the hip-hway
bridge, now destroyed. The enemy's picket is in full sight along the city-
side shore and wharves, all within hailing distance, the river here 200 or
300 yards wide. No picket firing now along the line. A deserter from
the enemy swam the river last night, and gave himself up to our pickets,
and was taken to a house near by, dried and warmed. The Reg. returns
to camp about noon, and has the afternoon for rest, excepting time for a
Dress-parade about sundown, all the men shivering with the cold.

Jan. 2. Fri. Clear, cold. Reg. in camp, and resting for a day. A
Dress-parade is held near night, while it is so cold that the men can
scarcely hold their guns. The rebels have been digging rifle-pits, work-
ing nights, all along the Fredericksburg bank of the river. A strong line
is now seen the whole length of the city. They expect another visit
from our side. They are now said to have more than fifty miles of
earthworks along their bank of the river. There is fearful suffering
among the men in our camp ; when the devil first hit upon this Falmouth
camp scheme, he must have thrown up his hat in jjerfect glee.

Jan. 3. Sat. Fair, cold. Company drill on the plain near camp.
A walk-round of half frozen men — nonsense. The men make their tents
warmer by sprinkling them witli water at evening. The water freezes

{jj THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

and makes the cloth wind-proof. A little touch of the Esquimaux ice-
made hut. A large mail arrives in camp, bringing some letters from New
Hampshire now over two months old. Some irreverent persons here
think that our old State needs a little toning up.

A great deal of the time a peculiar haze tills the sky here, chilling as
a garment woven of icicles and lined with fleecy snow ; the chill seems to
grasp every fibre of a man ; while the sun hangs back in the distance as
if unaccustomed to the country, afraid to come out, and looking in the cold
o-ray sky like a rounded cake of ice. On such days comfort is out of the
question, no matter how well the green pine wood may burn.

Jan. 4. Sun. Very fine day. Regimental inspection, followed by
religious services — doleful as seven funerals. Half the Reg. sick with
colds, rheumatism and jaundice. Rations of onions cooking ; being
roasted in the ashes of little fires all over camp, and they smell to heaven.
The men are scattered about camp on the sunny sides of their tents and
huts, some reading, some writing, some whittling, some singing, some
telling camp stories, some cleaning clothes and equipments, some reading
aloud to their fellows, some trying their hands at cooking, some repairing
tents, and some merely vegetate. The men have been in common shelter
tents aU the time since we left Faifax Seminary on December 1st ; a few
low, small log huts, with shelter tent roofs, are now being put up.

Jan. 5. Mon. Clear, fine, warm ; heavy rain all night. Lieut. For-
bush starts for home on ten days' leave. Company and Battalion drill,
the men with their knapsacks on. Any comment would be inadequate.
"We are so near the city in our camp here, that we can see the church
spires pointing upward, among the trees, and when all is still can hear
the town clock strike the hours. Funeral this afternoon of a man of Co.
B." Several men visit the 6th N. H. Vols., and meet a nearly forgotten
strano-er — flour bread and butter. Thirteenth placed to-day in 3d
Brigade 3d Div. 9th Army Corps.

A teamster driving up from Aquia Creek finds the mules in his team
exceedingly frisky ; he can do notliing with them, they run with him up
hill and down. He helps other teams through sloughs and up hard hills,
but needs no help himself. He has a load of whiskey in barrels. After
a while, and quite early in the morning, and after listening to more com-
ments made upon his team than are welcome, he investigates, and finds
every whiskey barrel empty. Last night, while halted for the night on
the road, some man, or a dozen, had bored holes up through the bottom
of the wagon into the barrels, and so wracked off and carried away all
the whiskey. All done while the guard slept, or " watched backward,"
as the boys say.

Jan. 6. Tues. A drizzling cold rain. Too muddy to march troops.
Gen. Burnside reviews the Army of the Potomac on the plain, just east
of the Phillips House, now Gen. Sumner's Hdqrs., and directly in front,
and south, of our camp. The troops, because of the mud and rain, do
not march in review past the General, as is customary. There are said

1863 CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG. 9/

to be 75,000 men in line. Gen. Burnside, unwilling to expose liis men
unnecessarily to the cold storm, cuts the review short ; and with bared
head, hat in his right hand, and followed by his staff, all dripping with
the rain, he rides at a swift gallop up the front and down the rear of the
lines — an imperial face and figure. This army will remember him
best as he appears to-day ; and thus he should be cast in lasting bronze.
Few cheers, comparatively, are now heard, for it is stern determination,
rather than enthusiasm, which pervades the Army of the Potomac.
While on the field we stand where we can see at a glance almost the
entire body of troops on review, while many thousands of the men pass
where we can see them on their way to their camps. The Thirteenth
wears knapsacks : the only regiment present that has them on to-day.

Assistant Surgeon John Sullivan is granted a leave of absence because
of sickness ; the order of the Medical Inspector certifying : " A change
of location, and furtlier treatment, is necessary to save his life."

Jan. 7. Wed. Cold, cloudy. Drilling resumed. The pickets along
the river cross and re-cross, so much, in boats, that a special order is
needed to put a stop to the dangerous pi'actice. The rebels want good
coffee, our men want good tobacco, and the temptation to exchange is
hard to resist. There are in use several little ' hand-ferries,' tight boxes
drawn back and forth across the river by a small rope running over
pulleys, but they are hard to manage in the swift current and among the
drift. Many a little toy-like boat is rigged and sent across, by contri-
vance of sail and rudder, landing far below tlie place of starting. Scarce
a soklier on either side can be induced to give information, being deterred
either by honor or fear. We have been in Hawkins' Brigade — 1st Brig.
3d Div. 9th Army Corps — consisting of tlie 9th, 89th, and 103d N. Y.,
25th N. J., 10th and loth N. H. ; but on Jan. 5th were placed in the 3d
Brigade, Col. Button of the 21st Conn, commanding, and consisting of the
21st Conn., 25th N. J., 13th N. H. and 4th R. I. No change is made in
location of camp.

One of the Companies in the Thirteenth had a man of the bow-back
species, and who was awkward, and able to strike an erect attitude only at
rare intervals. The Reg. came into camp one cold and rainy day, every-
body wet, muddy, tired and out of humor, and was to bivouac by divi-
sions. It was " Joe's " off week, and he leaned his shoulders back, and
tlu-ew his abdomen forward, several inches more than usual. The Cap-
tain commanding division was soon out of patience, and called out to Joe
to dress up to line. Joe came too far to the front by half of him. Next
he was told to fall back ; which he did, all out of sight. Back, too, went
the centre of the division line. Next came the order to the division to
dress up in the centre, and so it backed and filled three or four times,
while all in the Regiment grew more and more impatient in the pouring
rain. The Captain declared he would keep the division standing there
all night if they did not form a good line, and losing the usual words in
the order, shouted : " Swell out there — in the middle I " Joe did not

98 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

come up far enough, and the Captain shouted louder than before : " Swell
out there — in the middle — Joe ! " The Regiment roared. The Cap-
tain could but laugh too, and ordered his division to Itack arms. It was
Joe's middle that caused all the trouble.

Jan. 8. Thurs. Cold, cloudy. Reg. drilling in forenoon ; after-
noon improving camp. New York Heralds ten cents each. That enter-
prising paper can kill off a regiment or two of soldiers every day. A
close computation from its columns would possibly figure up the armies in
the field, dead and alive, to about 20,000,0U0 of men — all for ten cents.

Jan. 9. Fri. Fair. Company drill. Ofhcers mess board $3.00 per
week. No luxuries to be had. Two Union pickets cross the river in a
boat to Fredericksburg, exchange newspapers, and trade Avith the rebels.
While returning, their boat is upset, and both men are drowned. Men in
camp are refitting quarters ; preparing for a threatened storm.

Jan. 10. Sat. Severe rain storm. A detail from the Reg. goes on
picket down by the river, near the wire bridge, and has a hard night of
it. Pickets now go out in the morning, for 24 hours. Our line is in and
near the old Washington garden, not far from the central ponton landing,
where we crossed the river into the city on Dec. 11, and re-crossed on
Dec. 16. A rebel deserter swims across to our pickets ; a mid-winter
plunge for freedom. These determined and bold fellows are usually
pulled out of the water about half dead, they are so chilled and benumbed
with the cold, and exhausted by their struggles with the river current.

Jan. 11. Sun. Cloudy, rainy. Dress-parade at sundown, with
religious services. A detail from the 13th goes two miles from camp
for firewood, and brings it in upon their shoulders. They make a bun-
dle of the wood and tie it with ropes, run a pole longer than the bundle
through it, and then two men hoist the pole upon their shoulders, the
bundle hanging between them, and come staggering back to camp. It
must be borne in mind that there is not one man in twenty of the Union
Army here, who now enjoys his full normal strength. The writer has
borne one half of many such a bundle of wood for one and two miles,
and though in better health than the most, he found the labor of it sufh-
ciently severe.

At times last night the rebels in the city, some of them in full sight,
were very merry, cheering and singing. This morning the church bells
are ringing ; but the extremest pietist in all Fredericksburg would not
even allow us to attend churdi in that city — so near and yet so far.
But we have a hundred churches here in camp better than any over
there to-day. The good old Northern custom of families and friends
joining in Christian hymns and pure songs, on Sunday afternoon or
evening, is not forgotten here by the suffering but heroic boys in blue.
There are many such hours here when the air rings and rings again with
the old familiar tunes and hymns, and with many a jjatriotic song.

Jan. 12. Mon. Fine day. Reg. improves tents and grounds, and
the more the grounds are ' improved ' the worse they look. The Surgeon

1863 CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG. 99

General of our 9th Army Corps states that the Thirteenth has the best
camping ground in the Corps. If that be so, Heaven pity the rest ! No
drill to-day. The Reg. has now 960 men on its rolls, about 440 of them
are reported as for duty ; of whom scarcely one half are fit for duty, and
many are too weak to march in firm order while on drilL The nerveless
weakness that comes upon men here is astonishing ; strong one day, they
are scarcely able to stand erect the next. Regimental Hospital moved
to top of hill north of camp. Asst. Surgeon Sullivan goes home on leave.
Butter costs in camp 85 cents a jiound ; cheese 60 cents ; potatoes $3.00
per bushel ; apples 5 cents each, and everything else in proportion.

A Lieutenant in the 13th temporarily in command of a division on Battal-
ion drill, approaches an extremely dirty, muddy place in the drill ground ;
puzzled by the situation and not recalling quickly enough the proper order
to give, he settles the case off-hand by shouting : " Boys, break up ;
scoot that hole, and git together on t' other side ! " The movement was
a quick success. The traitorous Press has been full of remarks about
the Union army doing injury while in Fredericksburg. All such ma-
licious stuff may as well take a furlough. There were thousands upon
thousands of Union soldiers who did not, and who would scorn to, damage
or appropriate the property of citizens ; while expressions of sympathy
for innocent persons were heard on all hands. Everything was done
that could be done to prevent injury to private property, and any Union
soldier found offending in this particular was at once arrested.

Jan. 13. Tues. Pleasant. Reg. again takes a day, and makes
special endeavors to improve its quarters, for there is much sickness, and
great mental depression among the men. Teams are hauling logs to our
camp ; and shelter tents, which have afforded nearly all the protection
that the men have been able to secure, through all the stormy, wet, win-
try weather since Dec. 1, are being replaced by low huts. Little cellars
are dug seven feet square and one or two feet deep. Log walls are
raised about two feet high close around these little cellars on all sides,
excepting one. At this side is the doorway, chimney and fireplace. The
logs are plastered with mud, and banked up with earth on the outside to
keep the water out of the cellars. A fireplace is builf of mud and turf
at one corner of the hut, and above it on the outside of the hut is raised
a chimney of mud and sticks, with a pork or flour barrel placed on the
top. Shelter tents are drawn over the hut for a roof. Small poles laid
alongside each other a few inches above the cellar floor, and covered
with a layer of cedar or pine boughs constitute the bed. The chimney
covers nearly all of one end of the hut, and pieces of board, or of tent-cloth,
serve for a door. Four to six men are crowded into a hut of this size ;
and not one in twenty of the huts in Gen. Burnside's army here is
really so good as the one above described. The most afford but a poor
shelter, and all are miserable lodgings at best ; still we can do no better.

Jan. 14. Wed. Pleasant. Battalion drill. JMeasles suddenly be-
come epidemic in camp. Capt. Stoodley gives up his tent to the sick,

100 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

and some other officers do the same. Measles under these conditions of
tent life are a threatening scourge. We have constant daily drill unless
the weather and the condition of the ground is very bad indeed. Lt.
Col. Bowers leaves camp for home on a twenty-days' leave granted be-
cause of his ill health.

Jan. 15. Thurs. Cold. Rainy at night. Burial of Ira M. Whitaker
of Co. G at 3 jj. m. Died of the measles. The excitement in camp is
now worse and worse indeed. Capt. Stoodley and Private John B. Stevens
of G make for AVhitaker a coffin of three cracker-boxes jjlaced end to end,
and nailed to a couple of saplings. The simple burial of a private soldier
is one of the saddest scenes on earth at any time, but here departs a mere
boy but sixteen years old. Whitaker's is the first death in Company G.
A man's own company forms the usual procession on such occasions, any
friends joining who may choose to do so. A bottle well corked and
sealed, and containing the man's name, regiment, home address, etc., is
usually laid in the grave with his body. The burial is not prolonged :
the slow march, the arms reversed, the muffled drum, the piercing fife,
the dirge — often the Portuguese Hymn, but more often the Dead
March in Saul — the platoon fire over the grave, the quickstep march
back to camp, two men left to close the grave, and all is done.

Jan. 16. Fri. Rain storm last night ; clears warmer to-day. Orders
are received for us to be ready to move on the morrow at daylight, with
all camp equipage, three days' rations in haversacks and five days' in
wagons, and sixty rounds of ball-cartridge per man. No one sorry to
move, almost anytliing is preferable to this vile camp. The rebels send a
small shell at Prof. Lowe's balloon, and it falls within our camp ; makes
the mud fly where it bursts, and that is all.

Jan. 17. Sat. Fair. Very cold. Reg. remains in camp in suspense
all the day. Maj. Storer in command. One Company in the Thirteenth
has so far had twelve cases of the measles, but this is above the average
number in the several companies. There have been about seventy-five
cases in all.

Jan. 18. Sun. Very cold. Clear. Inspection of Reg. by Col. Dutton
at 9 a. m. Orders to march to-night. In fact, all along here, for six or
eight days, the Thirteenth lives in constant exjiectation of an immediate
march, and in readiness to move at an hour's notice. Rations in haver-
sacks spoil, are thrown away, and re-supplied — waste on waste. In-
formal inspection of arms ; a sure indication of trouble near ahead.

Jan. 19. Mon. Fair. Reg. remains in camp under arms. This long
suspense, backing and filling, is a mean business. To-day we have to
drill for several hours. The regimental Hospital is too small to receive
all the sick, well men are crowded into narrower quarters, and the sick
men ])laced in the vacated tents. The regular hours for drill all winter
have been : Company drill 10 to 12 a. m. ; Battalion drill L' to 4 p. m. ;
Dress-parade at 4.30 p. m.

Jan. 20. Tues. Cloudy, showery. Reg. still in camp under arms.

1863 CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG. 101

Oi'ders are received to inarch to-morrow at 4 a. m. During a break in
the rain to-day, the Reg. is hustled out for a Brigade drill, only to get wet
in the next shower. Late to-night in almost pitchy darkness, the Reg. is
formed in a hollow square, and Col. Stevens makes a fine speech. It is a
night of such intense dai-kness that one remark made hy him is taken too
literally, and ever after serves as a by-word, when a night comes on that
is black enough to make its use seemingly appropriate : " Men of the
Thirteenth, the eyes of New Hampshire are upon you ! " The Reg. is
fairly in their quarters, and settled for the night, when about 10 j). m. the
rain again begins to pour furiously.

A barrel of dried apples was drawn for rations, and the apples proved
to be mouldy, sour, rotten, black. One man of the 13th upon taking up
a bunch of them from the reeking mass, with the hook used to draw things
out of barrels, held them up and examined them, while he himself pre-
sented a countenance of utter melancholy and disaj^pointment, and re-
marked : " O if my poor dear mother could only see what her darling son
is going to have for his supper to-night ! " provoking a general burst of
laughter. Melancholy overdone is the most ridiculous of all drollery.

Jan. 21. Wed. Very severe rain storm. The rain commenced last
night about dark, rained all night, for many hours literally pouring, and
rains aU day to-day. The tents leak very badly, and scarce a man in the
Reg. can keep dry. The Thirteenth is up and all ready to strike tents at
2.30 a. m. Those having spare shelter tents can leave the roofs of their
huts on, all other roofs must be taken off ; which order would uncover
two thirds or more of the huts. It rains very hard at this hour, the wind
has been high aU night, and the whole country is flooded. Soon the men
are ordered to remain in quarters until orders come to move ; officers are
going from tent to tent to tell the men what to do to avoid needless ex-
posure to the cold storm. Orders to move do not arrive, though the signal
gun was fired at 3 a. m., and the Long-roll was sounded all through the
camp. The rain and mud stops all movements of the Union army, ex-
cepting concentration. At 4 a. m. it rains like a cloud-burst.

Language cannot describe the scene of this attempted movement. Gen-
Hooker's and Gen. Franklin's Grand divisions move off in the mud, and
rain, while we look on and await our turn. Orders for us to march are
countermanded about 4 a. m. A whole division of one of the Corps
laid out in the fearful storm of last night, near our camp, and without any
shelter whatever. They kept so still that their presence was known to
but few until daylight.

Some little time ago the men received a ration of " desiccated vege-
tables," and visions of a rare feast danced through ten thousand heads.
The ration was cooked, and proved to be some half a dozen different kinds
of vegetables and roots cut up in pieces and dried ; but they were dirty,
sandy, mouldy, and utterly uneatable. The men received them on their
plates in liberal quantities, and after one taste threw them away in dis-
gust, not caring where they fell — the camp was paved with them. The

102 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1K63

men dubbed them '' desecrated vegetables." A better surprise was a
quantity of " Boston brown bread," fresh and wann when it reached
our camp.

Jan. 22. Thurs. Rainy, cold, disagreeable, and the mud almost fath-
omless. The whole Keg. is hurried off early for picket duty on the river
near the Lacy House. A strong, double line of ])ickets are posted along
much of the river bank. The Lacy House was once a splendid place, but
is now terribly torn and battered. The storm yesterday and last night
was of rain and sleet, the northeast wind at times a gale. The roads
were soon bottomless ; wagons sunk to the bodies, and hundreds of nmles
and horses lay stranded and helpless in the clay. Teams are doubled
and trebled ; even as many as twelve horses harnessed to one twelve-
pounder gun, but aU in vain. The roadways and paths across the coun-
try are strewn with every conceivable kind of aimy materiel, from mus-
kets and accoutrements to cannon, caissons, supply wagons, lumber,
ponton boats and planks, dead horses and nmles. Many men, too, en-
feebled by the hardships and exposures of this worst camp of all camps,
have succumbed in this storm, fallen out, and died by the roadside, from
cold, wet and fatigue.

The rebels over the river shouted to our mud-bound pontonniers :
" Wait till morning, after it has done raining, and we '11 come over and
help you build your bridge." It was Gen. Burnside's intention to attempt
a crossing at Banks' Ford, and at other fords above the city. Our field-
guns posted along the bluffs have been hauled back a little out of sight of
the enemy, but many cannot be brought back to camp because of the mud.
Even at this time, our pickets near the Lacy House cross the river in a
boat to-night, and trade with the rebel pickets.

Jan. 23. Fri. Fair. Reg. returns from picket at noon. Lieut. For-
bush returns to camp from home. The recent movement is called the
' Mud INIarch,' and thousands of the nuid-larks are coming home in a
sorry looking condition. There is any amount of chaffing, and coarse
fun. as the muddy columns pass. The storm abates with light showers.
The rebels have a large board set up on the Fredericksburg shore, and
lettered : " Burnside and his army stuck in the mud." It is read dis-
tinctly with the aid of a glass. Little cannon, field-i)ieces. pass camp
drawn by twelve horses to a gun. The nnid rolls away from the axles
in great chunks, and the horses flounder and plunge ; in a word every-
thing, excelling the skies and trees, is mud, mud, mud.

Jan. 24. Sat. Fine. Thirteenth paid off this morning for twelve
days, to Oct. 31. 1862, by Maj. S. A. Walker. A detail of IGO men and
thi-ee or four officers sent on picket. Pedlers al)out camj) ; the pedler is
a pay-day parasite. Quarter-master Cheney is dangerously sick with
dysentery and nudarial fever. Thirty-eight sick men, from the Thir-
teenth, are sent in ambulances to new Hospital at Aquia Creek. A ])art-
ridge visits our camp, lights on a tree and is shot and eaten. The
Corps Surgeon inspects the quarters of officers and men, suggests im-

1863 CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG. 103

provements, and orders that no person must lie on the ground. Beds
must be raised at least four inches above the surface. Heretofore hun-
dreds of beds have been made of a few pine boughs thrown upon the
ground, which here is a vast sponge, wet with all the water it will hold,
and half frozen. All day long straggling soldiers have been passing our
camp, muddy, wet, ugly, sour and insubordinate.

Jan. 25. Sun. Rained last night, to-day clear. Usual Sunday
inspection and parade. Whiskey rations have been given out to the men
liberally — usually about one gill per man. Hot strong coffee is better.
A great quantity of quinine is taken ; salt relieves its bitterness. To-
day there is formed in the Regiment a Masonic Relief Association having
40 members, one half of them officers. Its purposes are to attend to
the wants of the sick, or wounded, to procure for them remedies, food,
clothing, and such comfort as can be secured ; and in all cases where
practicable to send their remains, if they die, home to their friends.

Jan. 26. Mon. Very warm. Reg. drilling. Non-commissioned
officers commence a rigorous term of drill. On one of these warm days
the Thirteenth is again drilled, with their knajisacks on, for several
hours, and rapidly. A part of our drill ground had been a cornfield, the
thawing made the top of the ground very muddy and more slippery than
if greased. Many of the men fell to-day and were badly hurt ; and
some of them return to camp in a complete mud armor. The writer and
several other men were laid up for two or three days with sprained
ankles. Lieut. Kilburn leaves camp for home.

Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker assumes command of the Army of the Poto-
mac, Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside having been relieved at his own
request. Generals Franklin and Sumner relinquish their commands.

Jan. 27. Tues. Cloudy, rainy. No drill. Quarter-master Cheney
leaves camp for Washington, very sick. Malarial and typhoid diseases
very prevalent. Still, notwithstanding the great physical and mental
depression here in the army, the old fire of true patriotism, that led these
men to take up arms, now burns as bright, strong and hot as ever. This
suffering army means brisk business when once again the campaign
opens. These sufferings and privations are what patriotism leads a man
to meet, and helps him to endure.

Jan. 28. Wed. Cold. A heavy snow storm sets in about 4 p. m.
with a severe northeast wind, and causes a great deal of damage to the
Thirteenth's frail tents, on the roofs of which it accumulates to the depth
of five or six inches. The cloth roofs have been torn and patched, and
every seam is strained and leaky. It is next to impossible to keep fires
burning in the little fire-places in the tents, and the men have to roU
themselves in their blankets to keep warm. There is water in the bottom
of half the fireplaces, and but little dry wood can be obtained. Nine
tenths of the firewood used is green pine.

Rice is complained of and as rations roundly condemned. The men
call it '• swamp-seed," and every other vile name imaginable; and rice is

104 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSPHRE REGIMENT. 1863

truly a very poor substitute for good food. A board of officers investi-
gating the matter, call in a few of the men, and among them Sergeant
Gibbs of E, to learn their opinions concerning rice. They are all loud,
and most severe, in their condemnations, excejiting Gibbs. He is called
upon last, and ])raises rice in terms fully as emphatic as the others' terms
of dislike. He contends that there is no diet so veiy wholesome, con-
venient, and desirable ; especially for men to have while on a forced
march. '• And why," they ask, "is it then so very desirable? " " You
see," answers Gibbs, " men fed on rice can march right along all day,
and all night, they never have to halt for anything — till they dro})
dead." As a consequence of the investigation, rations of rice give way
to something more substantial.

Jan. 29. Thurs, Rain and snow all last night, a hard storm.
Above eight inches of snow falls during the night and morning ; clears
cold about 9 a. m. No drill. The Reg. still have only shelter tents
for the roofs of their huts ; nothing but cheap cotton drilling, and badly
worn at that. Not a tent but what leaks badly, and the men have to
get up, every hour or two, and shake the snow off the roofs. Some tents
are worthless and break under the weight of the wet snow, and the poor
men " double-up " in other tents, already too crowded ; and so they
suffer — wet, chilled, sick, gloomy, disheartened.

Think of it you able bodied army-shirks, cowards, slinks, sneaks ; who
are willing to " let the Union slide," and who now let us do all the fight-
ing and hard work to save it, while you stay at home, and will have an
equal share and benefit, all for nothing, in our hard won successes. Not
one in fifty of you can look a soldier straight in the face. A few hun-
dred of your soulless carcasses set up along the front lines, to shield
honorable men from rebel bullets, every one of them fired by better men
than you, might have saved to Union arms the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Jan. 30. Fri. AVarmer. Snow melting a little. Mud and slush
all over camp. No drill. Dress-parade at sundown. O such thinned
ranks ! In order to keep the men employed, and to divert their minds
from their extreme sufferings, discomforts and privations in this winter
camp, they have been exercised in some form of military drill on every
day during the whole winter, excepting when the weather was very bad
indeed, or the ground so very wet and snowy that marching was next to
impossible.

The bands are forbidden to play pathetic or plaintive tunes, such as
Home, Sweet Home, Annie Laurie, Auld Lang Syne, etc., lest they serve
to dis])irit, and unnerve our suffering men. While we are here in
America's second Valley Forge, the hearthstones of New England are
glowing warm and cheerful, and the traditional nuts, apples and cider
are ])assed as when we used to be at home there. "Wholesome food in
])lenty, warm clothing, snug houses, luxurious beds, all are there ; and
the deserving, and the undeserving, enjoy them alike. "We are not
envious. Those home comforts could to-day stand between hundreds of
us soldiers and death ; hence we long for them.

1863 CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG. 105

Jan. 31. Sat. Veiy cold and clear. Ground frozen hard. Picket
sent from the loth to the river near the Lacy House. One post at the
highway bridge crossing over Brown's Island. Another picket support-
ing a battery on the bluffs ; an extremely cold job on a wide bare plain.
The Tiiirteenth has taken its turn on the picket line, a little oftener than
once a week all the winter.

There has been a serious disturbance over " Regulation Brasses " dealt
out to the Thirteenth ; a miserable, old-fashioned piece of regular army
foolishness. Rightly the Thirteenth rebels, buries or destroys the en-
tire mess of stuff, and tlien jjays the swindle, like honest and indignant
soldiers. About a bushel of the brasses, shoulder-pieces, etc., go into one
deep hole in the ground, at the hour of twelve, midnight, the writer's
with them. " We came down here," the men say, " to put down the
rebellion ; not to garnish ourselves with old brass, and poor at that, and
spend hour after hour in polishing it. We will not submit to such
ignominy."

The rebel pickets, over the river, call to us to come over and try them
now ; and still yell sundry jokes about the mud march. The jioor fellows
over there have so few jokes, that when they get hold of one they think
good, they never know when to drop it.

It is interesting on a sharp, clear morning to go up on the bluff north
of our camp, very early, and listen to the bugle and drum calls, the
Reveille, of these two great armies. The hour is about the same in both,
and if one or the other precedes by a few moments with its first call, the
sounds are soon all mingled together, as if the entire country were celebrat-
ing in some vast jubilee. But it is far enough from a jubilee ; two hun-
dred thousand men are turning out in the cold — shiveinng. grumbling,
growling, and each answering to the roll-call with an angry snap of his
jaws, as if he would like to bite a ten-penny nail in two. and chew the
pieces. Of course there are some who joke, and even laugh ; but both
jokes and laughter freeze upon their lips and drop like icicles to the
ground, or the jokers are kicked, punched and reviled for disturbing the
general tone of the meeting.

Feb. 1. Sun. Rainy afternoon. Reg. came into camp from picket
at 10 a. m., all more or less muddy and wet. No Dress-parade, iio
religious services. Capt. Cummings and Lt. Col. Pearsons of the 6th
N. H. visit camjj. (Lt. Col. Pearsons laid down his life for his country
at the battle on the North Anna river. May 26, 1864.) The people at
home should see the men turn out from the tents when the arrival of the
mail is announced. Nothing more welcome here than letters from home ;
nothing more disappointing than their failure to arrive, or more trying
than the waiting after they are due.

" The rebels have got a board, still nailed up in Fredericksburg, on
which is written in big letters : ' Burnside and his army stuck in the
mud.' " Prescott.

106 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

Feb. 2. Mon. Cold, clear. Company drill in the forenoon ; ugly
work in the snow. Lt. Col. Bowers returns to the Reg. this afternoon.
Arrangements are made for granting furloughs of fifteen days each to
two enlisted men in every liundred ; and to two line officers in each regi-
ment, leaves of absence for the same period.

Feb. 3. Tues. Very cold ; snow squalls. No drill. Prof. Lowe's
balloons, sometimes three of them, go up almost every day (and have
done so all winter), and we soon read what he sees from them, possibly,
in the columns of the New York papers ; and that is the first and all we
know about it, though the balloons are not a quarter of a mile distant
from our camji. Our camp is just in range of those balloons and when
the enemy essays, as he frequently does, to burst the big bubbles, we take
the shells. That fact also conduces to make our camp a pleasant place
to sleep and wake in.

Joseph A. Jones of E dies in hospital at Aquia Creek, the first death
in the Company. He was a good soldier, kee])ing up and doing duty
just as long as he possibly could, but the deadly malaria slowly de-
stroyed his vitality, and his life ceased as a clock runs down.

Some one in the Thirteenth stepped outside of his hut into the sharp
air to-night, and in a magnificent voice opened that favorite song of all
songs in the Union army : " Old John Brown." The camp quickly
joined in the song ; it spread to neighboring regiments and on toward
the front, and the grandly swelling chorus must have reached the ears of
the rebels over the river. Other patriotic songs followed. It was a
cheering and inspiriting hour.

Feb. 4. "Wed. Stinging cold. No drill. Capt. Grantman starts
for home on fifteen days' leave. David Hogan of E has an experience
that he can never forget. His round of guard duty takes him near the
Regiment's sinks and cesspools. A large shell, intended by the enemy
for Prof. Lowe's balloon, falls into one of them, bursts there, and scatters
about two cartloads of the vile contents for rods around, nearly burying
Hogan out of sight ; Hogan is unhurt beyond a scare, but his clothing,
and his appetite, are utterly ruined. Another shell strikes a stump near
a shelter tent with two men in it. They jump instantly right through
the roof, taking cloth, poles and all with them, for a little ravine close
to the side of the tent opposite the stump. The shell does not burst, and
the two men fit up cam^J again on the old ground.

Our camp seems to wear a more cheerful face since the return of Lt.
Col. Bowers. Within these two days, it is safe to say, he has visited
every tent, and has shaken hands with every man in the Thirteenth. He
18 everywhere, encouraging and cheering the men.

Nearly every street in this camp is named, and in many cases the
name is inscribed on a bit of board nailed to a tree or corner of a hut.
Hundreds of the huts also are conspicuously marked with names or
legends ranging through every grade of notion and idea. Several of the
worst sort of huts are labelled Home, Sweet Home. Here is Lincoln

1863 CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG. 107

Street and Burnside Avenue ; Starvation Alley and Mud Lane ; Astor
House and Swine Hotel ; Dew Drop Inn and We 're Out ; Post No Bill
Street and Thompson's Chateau. Come Jine Us, offsets Git Out, and
Happy Family, balances with Tiger Den. One street rejoices in the
name of Mud Alley, and near it is Sunny Lawn under a huge pine-tree
where the sun never shines and grass never grows. An especially muddy
place near Chaplain Jones's tent is called Holy Park.

Feb. 6. Thiirs. Very cold. Snow in the forenoon, and rain in the
afternoon and all night. Another long period of miserable experiences with
the shelter-tent roofs of the huts. What with rain, snow, mud, cold, and
wind, inside the tents and huts nearly as bad as outside, there has been
little comfort for the past two weeks. Fully one half of the huts of the
men have broken in, or broken down in parts. The day closes with a
severe northeaster. The snow continues until 3 p. m., then the storm
turns to rain, which pours heavily all through the night. The mud is
washed out of the cracks between the logs, in the walls of the huts, and
the rain pours in. The pork or flour barrels on the tops of the chimneys
are all blown off, and before morning many of the chimneys, made of
mud and sticks, also go down.

Some reader may think that the picture of this winter camp is over-
drawn ; but let him inquire of the survivors, or read other accounts, and
especially hospital records and death rolls, and he will conclude to dis-
card the vehicle of language to bear to him a true account of this camp's
abominations, and depend upon his imagination altogether. The camp
and its miseries, discomforts and sufferings are simply indescribably bad.
The earth is saturated with water. Men whose tents were set upon the
little cellars dug among the roots of trees, have found after a rain storm, a
temporary bubbling sjjring under their bed, or in the middle of their little
floor space. One tent in the loth was for this pleasant reason dubbed
" Cold Spring House," and another, " Geyser Number Forty-Two." At
most we can give but a few of the facts, and no string of facts can ever do
the subject justice. Many of the men in sheer desperation cut the state-
ments of their outrageous experiences short with the roughest of old
English and a burst of most vicious profanity, by way of relieving their
pent-up feelings of indignation. Frequently the floors of the little cellars,
just after a rain storm, are covered with ice-cold water from two to six
inches deep, and the water has to be bailed out as from a leaky boat ;
such is the house and land we live in. A soldier of the 13th writes home :
" We could have no fire in the fireplace in our tent to-day, for the water
in it is three inches deep ; so we roll ourselves in our blankets, and lie in
bed to keep from freezing." Most welcome orders are received for the
Thirteenth to be ready to-morrow morning, with three days' cooked rations,
to move to Fortress Monroe. Cheers, such as our army, and especially
such as the Thirteenth, never gave before, ring out from regiment to regi-
ment, again and again.

Feb. 6. Fri. Cold, showery ; warm at noon. Reg. ready on time

108 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

to niai'ch — most exceedingly ready ; the men cannot express their readi-
ness to ([uit this place. The First Brigade of our Division — 3d, 9th
A. C. — marches early this morning; the Second Brigade early in the
afternoon. The Thirteenth, and the rest of our Third Brigade, are
under arms all day, waiting to move. The mud is too deep for army
shoes, called in camp language " whangs " and " gun-boats," and tena-
cious enough to pull them off ; hence the troops move away verv slowly,
and march in a very irregular order in search of dry ground. Another
night in the old camp ; with many expressions of disappointment, and
nuich denunciation of the promise of dei)arture as a fable and a sham.

MOVE TO NEWPORT NEWS.

Feb. 7. Sat. Clear, and quite warm in the sunshine at noon. Very
early in the morning the miserable roofs are again pulled off the huts,
and the Reg. packs ready to move. Again we wait under arms all day,
nearly. The men build fires, by order, for the day at morning and even-
ing is very chilly. There is a large lot of fresh beef in camp, and the
men have a splendid dinner. The last dinner in the Falmouth camp is
the best one ever known there. We destroy a large quantity of food
supi)lies of every sort, which cannot be moved ; among the rest, a lot of
' old government ' Java coffee, of the regular brand used in the army.
Fires are built upon it, and then water is poured on. First Sergt.
Thompson and Sergt. Van Duzee of E, and others in the Reg., leave their
huts standing exactly as occupied all winter, roofs on and fires burning
on tlie hearth. The Thirteenth leaves camp at 4.30 p. m., marches to
Falmouth station, distance two miles, takes cars, most of them box freight
cai's, at 6.30 p. m., arrives at Aquia Creek, after the fifteen mile ride,
about 9 p. m., and bivouacs at 10 p. m., at the wharf, in cars, in boxes, on
boards, anywhere, everywhere. Some of the men capture a few bales of
hay, from cars on a side track, spread it deep on the floor of sundry
cattle cars, and thus have a fine clean bed to sleep on. Here they remain
until called to go on board the boat.

Good-by Valley Forge Number Two. No place where men can exist at
all for three winter months can be much worse, so any change is welcome.
Any one desiring to learn how much we have enjoyed this camp can
gain experimentally some idea of the matter by taking a sheet oft' his bed,
making a tent of it, pitching the tent in any common swamp in New Eng-
land, and living in it through the months of February. INIarch and April ;
the experience will be more nearly similar to ours at Falmouth, if he has
about half enougli of clothing, and his rations are hard bread, coffee and
salt beef, none of it too good and always a scanty supply. This winter
camp has been an indescribable mixture of the diabolical, pathetic, laugh-
able, dismal, droll, horrid, funny, sick, ])icturesque, abominable, comical,
damnable, amusing and outrageous, all at once and continually. Men
laugh, joke, and die ; men cry, and die ; men suffer the excruciating tor-
ments of rheumatism and fever, and die ; men waste away in mind and

1863 CAMP OPPOSITE FREDERICKSBURG. 109

body without a twinge of pain, and die ; all side by side, and in tent by
tent. A party of congenial spirits, sick, suffering and almost hopeless,
gather in a tent, bemoan, whine and wail, and act like whipped children ;
in an adjoining tent a party, ecpial in all points of actual suffering, pour
all their miseries into an unending stream of fun, joke, gibe, frolic and
glee to drown their soi*rows ; the next day one or more of each i)arty is
dead, or on his way to a Hospital, and is never again able to return to
active service ; and so it has gone on, week in and week out, all the long
winter. Another party look their trials, and even death itself, coolly and
deliberately in the face, contrive every i)ossible plan to keep their health,
or to regain it if lost, confidently depending upon the eternal truth that
God helps them who properly help themselves, and almost every one of
these manages to survive. To-day there are not fifty men in the Thir-
teenth regiment who can call themselves well men, and the same has been
true of almost every day since the battle of Fredericksburg ; while the
good spirits of many of the worst sufferers have been preyed upon con-
tinually by the doleful forebodings and scoldings of many of the most
vigorous. There is one bright point of relief : practical Christianity — and
there is no other — was never more fully at work than here. But as for
the whole, write it however you may, language cannot describe this winter
camp ; and while its denizens survive, they will sing of it, scold it, be-
wail it, laugh over it, and most roundly denounce it, all in the same breath.

Feb. 8. Sun. Pleasant morning, cold afternoon. Reg. at Aquia
Creek. We assemble early, have a liberal morning bath, and go on board
the steamer ' George Washington,' about 10 a. m., and are stored as
close as cattle ; but the boys little mind it : we are going to a better place
than Falmouth. Seven companies are on the steamer, the other three on
board the schooner ' Pawnee ' in tow of the steamer. Occasionally on
the trip our Band furnishes fine music. We start at 2 p. m. for Fortress
Monroe. Quite a number, about lUO, of our men receive boxes here from
home, they having been held here to await our coming ; and as a conse-
quence almost everything in them is spoiled. Rich and dainty viands,
sent to the soldiers by loving hands at home, merely serve to feed a few
Potomac fishes, as our boat speeds down the river, and the contents of the
boxes go overboard.

The first court martial convened in the Thirteenth was organized Jan.
30, 1863, to try sundry cases of misdemeanor among the men, and the
detail for the same was Capt. Smith of H, Lieut. Durell of E, Lieut.
Coffin of K, with Lieut. Young of F as Judge Advocate. The condition
of the Reg. was such that no larger detail could be made. Maj. Storer
was at that time in command. This movement necessarily dissolves the
court, and its members reported to the Regiment yesterday for duty.

" Yesterday the sick of the Thirteenth, nearly forty in all, were taken
from the regimental Hospital to the station in ambulances before noon,
and placed in box cars. About 4 p. m. an orderly galloped up to the
Thirteenth Hdqrs., and a moment later the voice of Lt. Col. Bowers was

110 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

heard ordering : ' Fall in Thirteenth ! ' Never was an order obeyed with
more alacrity. The 13th Band struck up ' Marching Along.' And as
we passed up over the hill near the Phillips House, we could see our
abandoned camp, with its mud chimneys and smoking fires presenting
the appearance of a city in ruins. The troops went cheering — glad to
get out of that swamp of mud." Prescott.

III.

CAMP AT NEWPORT NEWS.

Feb. 9. Mon. Fine day- As we move down the bay the air is full
of wild birds, small and large, with ducks, geese and gulls by the thou-
sand. The officers and others use their revolvers freely upon the multi-
tude of feathery game. The use of rifles in the same sport is much de-
sired, but altogether forbidden — Uncle Sam's ammunition is not for the
feathered bipeds. Many transports and war vessels are passing to and
fro on the water, and an enormous fleet hovers around Fortress Monroe,
which we pass about 9 a. m. ; we lay at anchor two or three hours, and
debark at Newport News at 12 noon. About 4 p. m. we are placed
in the old barracks nearest the shore, three companies in a building.
The whole 9th Army Corps is to rendezvous here, numbering 25,000 to
30,000 men of all arms. The 13th last October had 101 men to a com-
pany ; now from 36 to 55 men per company are reported for duty. The
effective force of the Thirteenth is reduced by more than one half.

Feb. 10. Tues. Warm, fine day. Reg. improving quarters, and
eating oysters enough for three regiments. Fine camping ground here ;
a broad, long, sandy plain, running along the bay, clean and dry.
Monitors are at anchor in the bay, and almost numberless vessels of
various kinds. " Got some soft bread," one soldier in the 13th writes.
Another writes : " Letters are as welcome to the soldier as food to the
starving beggar."

Feb. 11. "Wed. Fair, with a few showers. A wonderful change in
the appearance of our men, even in these three days : they are cleaner,
healthier, more cheerful. This is Paradise to Falmouth. Rather chilly
in quarters, however, without fires. Troops are constantly landing in
great numbers. We drill for a few hours. The officers have wall tents,
the men remain in barracks, which are warmer.

Feb. 12. Thurs. Pleasant, breezy, cool. Battalion and Company
drill. We have now soft, fresh, nice flour bread ; the first the men have
had for many weeks. Lieut. Durell of E at home on 15 days' leave.
One man of the 13th is sent to the General Hospital, and the first re-
mark made about his case, by the Surgeon, is : " Rub this man down
with a brick ; let us find him before we attempt to cure him."

Feb. 13. Fri. Fair, cold, breezy. " I prescribed for the sick men
of two companies this morning for the first time." (Prescott.) Bat-
talion and Company drill all day. The Thirteenth not being considered
quite proficient enough in drill, the Brigade commander sets about a

112 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1803

reform ; and puts us under such strict orders of regularity that we pull off
boots, go to bed, sleej), dream, wake, rise, dress, march, drill, eat, drink,
and pick our teeth, all in one time and two motions, as the tactics say.
One of our Regiment's mules plunged overboard and swam ashore from
the transport to-day ; the change of camji and the weather have " mettled "
man, horse and mule.

Feb. 14. Sat. Fair, cold, windy. No drill. Hawkins' Zouaves are
standing in line, and on parade. A sutler's wagon drives by with a load,
several barrels, of ginger cookies. A sick zouave near by asks the driver
for a cookie, and is abusively refused. Instantly the zouave regiment
breaks ranks, drops muskets, and " goes for " that load of cookies, and for
several minutes nothing can be seen but a struggling pile of red legs,
and flying about the tangled mass a fountain - like shower of cookies.
After all is over the sutler is paid for his cookies by the impulsive
zouaves, and freely admonished. The writer has just time to see the
scrimmage, and gives a zouave's version of the affair. An army cookie is
about four inches across and half an inch thick and of the average density
of a boot-heel, its color ranging between tan and black ; is made of gin-
ger, molasses — and other things, and contains more seeds of biliousness
and griping stomach-ache than can elsewhere be found in the same sj^ace.
They are best eaten with pickles, half and half — by the hogs.

Feb. 15. Sun. Sunshine and shower. Dress-jjarade and religious
services at 5 p. m. The Chaplain is a good man, but a little too solemn.
There is of necessity solemnity enough here without any shadow of yield-
ing to it. The fact is Chaplain Jones' sympathies have been exceedingly
wrought upon by the sufferings at Fredericksburg, and his health is by
no means rugged. The Rhode Island boys receive two schooner loads
of fresh vegetal)les, sent by the State. We are sorry it was ever said
that " New Hampshire is a good State to emigrate from ; " — what if
that very phrase sliould put it into the head of some one to believe it!

Feb. 16. Mon. Fair. Drill both forenoon and afternoon. A num-
ber of men from upper New Hampshire, sent into the woods to chop, say
that they never saw such fine timber before. If we stay here six months
there wall not be one tree left of a thousand.

Feb. 17. Tues. Hard rain storm all last night and all day to-day.
Keg. keeps within doors ; smokes, jokes, makes merry, sings, plays games,
and begins to enjoy life again. There is but little grumbhng now, though
the weather is cold, we can have no fires, and rations are short and poor
with us, while the men from New York and Rhode Island are feasting.
When on Dress-parade, we face toward the water, and there is no need
to command " Eyes front," for the view is magnificent. Our ammunition
remains a1)oard ship, a fact that makes a long stay in this splendid camp
a matter of great doubt.

Feb. 18. Wed. Storm continues and is furious towards night. No
work done. A party goes duck shooting, and has great success. Tliere
is a slave wliipping - post near camp which shows the wear of much use ;

1863 CAMP AT NEWrORT NEWS. 113

a wooden bar nailed across a tree about as high up as a man can reach.
The victim's hands were tied to this while the lash was laid on. There
is scarce a plantation in all the South without its whipping-post.

Feb. 19. Thurs. Rainy forenoon, a clear and cold afternoon. Dress-
parade at 5 I), m., with a turn of poor drilling. It is so very pleasant
here that the men refer to the Fredericksburg camj) as Camp Misery,
and call it many other names too hard to print. Lieut. Holmes resigns,
and is honorably discharged the service.

Feb. 20. Fri. Clear and fine, windy. Drill forenoon and afternoon.
At Dress-parade the announcement is read that a deserter is to be shot ;
sending a shiver down men's spines. Our men are ordered to have their
shoes blacked, and also ordered not to leave camp " at all ; " but when
they do leave, to wear their coats buttoned up to the throat, to stand and
walk erect, to wear a belt, to have all buttons and brasses shining, and to
set their caps on their heads with a tfy-square, or in words to that effect.

Feb. 21. Sat. Splendid weather, very warm at noon. Reg. fitting
up camp and quarters. The ' Congress ' and the ' Cumberland,' sunk
on Sat. March 8, 1862, by the rebel war-ship ' Merrimac,' are just off-
shore, the ends of masts, and a few timbers only appearing above the
watei". The little monitors lay out in Hampton Roads, waiting to see
what may turn up. All the vessels in the stream, and several batteries
on the shore, are constantly practicing at target firing ; and the shells
skimming along the water, or dropping in vertically, burst and throw up
handsome fountain-like jets of white water, while we sit, in the sunshine,
on the shore, and watch the play. No drill on Saturdays. What Avould
the Base-ballists of the " Great National Game " now, 1887, think to
see some thousands of men, representing almost every company in the
Ninth Army Corps, engaged in playing base ball ? It is safe to say that
two hundred games are going on at once, on some of these days, on
this plain ; probably double that number at times.

Feb. 22. Sun. Snowy, rainy, and the coldest day since we came
here. A snow storm commenced last night about 8 o'clock. Four inches
of snow fell, and this morning it is flying about in a driving northeast wind.
Reg. remains in quarters all day. The barracks leak, are filthy and
vile, are crowded, too, with three companies in each building. The men
improvise all sorts of crazy contrivances to guard themselves against the
cold and the snow ; hoping, as the man said when he wrapped himself in a
fish net, " to tangle up the cold to some extent." Several vessels are
blown high and dry upon the shore. Hundreds of others are tugging
at their anchors, and bounding and plunging like a multitude of huge,
black, ungainly porpoises.

Feb. 23. Mon. Fair, and very cold. Reg. drills, despite the snow,
both forenoon and afternoon. The boys say : " They are fattening us now
to kill." At any rate we live Avell, rations having improved greatly of
late, and we have a plenty of healthful exercise called drilling, on a
splendid smooth drill ground. Col. Stevens and wife leave camp for

114 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

home ; Col. Stevens has twelve days' leave. Lt. Col. Bowers in com-
mand of the Reg. There is much ill feeling now in the army concerning
the negro slaves, who, as freedmen, are numerous here and arrogant.
Many of the soldiers have an idea that all our sacrifices are forced
upon us especially for the benefit of the negroes ; the idea being suggested
by the newspapers insisting that there must be no peace until slavery has
been abolished. A party of officers, who have not seen a white woman
for over two months, visit Norfolk — and stare. One of them pretends to
be frightened, and wants to know " What those queer creatures are, going
about in those Sibley-tent sort o' things."

Feb. 24. Tues. Fine day but cold. The Thirteenth is reorganized,
and the Companies take their new places in the line, according to their
Captains' rank, determined by the date of their muster-in. Many are
extremely dissatisfied, contending that a minute, or an hour, is as good as
a day in any such question of precedence. The change in rank is caused
by an order, from the Adjutant General of the army, directing that all
officers are to rank according to the date of their muster-in, and all mus-
tered-in on the same day are to draw lots for precedence. About as fair,
and about as wise, would it be for Gen. Hooker and Gen. Lee to " draw
lots " for victories and defeats. But worst of all, orders are set as a wall
against all duck-shooting. No more broiled duck, and wild duck broiled
is good. Half the Reg. has been under arrest for shooting duck ; dead
duck and lame duck are all the fashion. A supjily of new clothing
issued to the men, and greatly needed. Our Brigade go out on review —
a frozen review.

Feb. 25. "Wed. Fair, sunny. The Ninth Corps inspected and re-
viewed. A very fine display ; the finest review we have yet seen. Ver^
slow, however, occupying upwards of five hours. The men of the 13th
stand in line, with arms at a shoulder, for over two hours at a stretch.
Hard work to " hold up your gun up " for that length of time, and with-
out changing your position. The review ground is a long, smooth, nearly
level plain, about two square miles in extent. There are 37 regiments of
infantry, 6 batteries and a small body of cavalry in line — above 25,000
men, forming a line over a mile in length. The thousands of bayonets
and the sea of trappings glittering in the sunshine, the dashing horsemen
and wheeling columns are all very fine ; but the long lines of tattered
battle flags tell the tale of many a Ninth Corps field of battle, blood and
death, of victory and of defeat. Many of these flags have but a narrow,
fringed strip of bunting iqi and down the staff.

Feb. 26. Thurs. Clouds and sunshine, cold ; a heavy rain at night.
Reg. resting from their work of yesterday. We start out for a drill, but
a thrice welcome shower sends every man to his quarters. Dress-])arade
at evening. Tlie 103d N. Y. have a fine band, and late last night they
played a delightful serenade near our camp.

Feb. 27. Fri. Fair, windy, quite cold. Company and Brigade
drill, and rather long hours of it. Wild geese are flying over now in

1863 CAMP AT NEWPORT NEWS. 115

great flocks. Immense numbers of porpoises are sporting in the bay
near camp ; and both they and the wikl geese overhead go through their
evohitions with as much promptness and regularity, nearly, as some of our
brigades. A quick - speaking officer on Brigade drdl, seeing a muddy
place near by, and being proud of the well blacked shoes of his Company,
orders : " Forward — don't puddle your boots, boys — March ! "

Feb. 28. Sat. Rainy. Inspection in general, camps and all, lasting
about five hours. Reg. mustered for pay by Lt. Col. John Coughlin of
the 10th N. H. Another day of rest would be most acceptable. On the
whole, this month of February has been a time of great gain to this corps
of the army, and the last part of the month has been very delightful in
most resjDects. Many officers and men have visited Fortress Monroe and
Norfolk, and hundreds of photogi-aphs of soldiers have traveled homeward.
White collars and gloves aVe the fashion. The men and officers wear
them while on camp and provost guard duty. We have no picket duty
of consequence to perform at Newport News ; the enemy not near enough
to cause serious concern.

March 1. Sun. Fair, with showers, cold. Division guard-mount-
ing, a big show. Company inspection and Dress-parade. Lieut. E. W.
Goss placed in command of Company I.

March 2. Mon. Fair. Drill forenoon and afternoon. A cold
east wind blows all night. This tongue of sand is the wind's playground.

March 3. Tues. Fair, splendid day. Drill, drill, drill, Brigade and
Battalion. All the members of the non-commissioned staff are required to
drill as regularly as their duties will permit. Officers' mess board is good
here now at a cost of $2.00 per week. Asst. Surgeon Sullivan returns
to camp from home.

March 4. Wed. Fair, cold. Company, Battalion and Brigade drill.

March 5. Thurs. Fair, " confounded " cold. General Inspection
at 9 a. m. Company drill forenoon, Battalion drill afternoon. Dress-
parade. The war vessels in the Roads move up the stream into a naval
line of battle. We enjoy a wide view of a large fleet. The rebel " new
Merrimac " is said to have come down within sight of our fleet.

The burden of the battle of Fredericksburg, and of the winter camp,
follows some men even here, and they cannot throw off the incubus, but
remain unuttei'ably solemn, doleful and dirty. There is one of them in
the Thirteenth, a man who became depressed while burying our dead on
the battle-field. Something must be done with this man to break the
spell ; kindness, scolding or extra duty has had no effect. So on this ex-
ceeding sharp, frosty moi-ning at Roll-call, about daylight, the poor fellow
is ordered to step three paces to the front, and then to turn about and
face his company in line. A corporal — a grim old sailor — and two
strong men are ordered to the front beside him. These take their places,
and are then directed to procure sea sand and soap, and to take this man
at once to the brook, to strip him, and to scrub him from head to foot,
with the soap and sand, as they would scrub a dirty floor. The brook is

116 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

frozen over, and the water is of course icy cold. They start for their
work ; but when about half way to the brook, the man oifers to keep him-
self " satisfactorily clean " if he can be spared this disgrace. He is al-
lowed to try for himself, and directed to report within two hours ; and as
a matter of fact, within a week he is about the biggest dandy in the com-
pany to which he belongs.

March. 6. Fri. F'air morning, cold. Battalion drill in afternoon
broken up by a rain storm. Col. Stevens returns from home. Lieut. Ladd
returns to the Reg. from his long sickness at Washington ; has been ab-
sent since about Dec. 1, 1862.

March 7. Sat. Wet and muddy, no drill. The boys say " they
have had enough of drilling, and would like to try a little sheeting for a
week or two." A soldier in good health sleeps as soundly as a child.
Saturdays are now usually devoted to cleaning camp, arms, etc., not much
else done to-day excepting a Dress-parade about 5 p. m., at which sundry
promotions are announced.

March 8. Sun. Pleasant. Usual Sunday work. Inspection of arms
at 9 a. m., when we all get wet in a shower, our arms, clothing, every-
thing ; a thunder shower in jMarch. Surgeon Richardson starts for home
on leave ; he has been in poor health for a long time.

March 9. Mon. Fair. Reg. inspected by Capt. Hazard Stevens
of Gen. Getty's staff. Drill pronounced good. The Thirteenth is a well
drilled and fine appearing regiment. Of late, especially, almost every man
has exhibited great pride in doing, and appearing, as well as he can.

The battle between the rebel iron-clad ram Merrimac, ten guns, and
the Monitor, two guns, took place, off this shore, March 9, 1862. The
Merrimac withdrew, disabled, to near Craney Island, and soon afterwards
was blown up, and sunk in shoal water that just covers the hulk.

(July, 1887. The Merrimac has been raised and broken up recently,
and sold in Richmond for old iron.)

March 10. Tues. Very stormy, cold. No outdoor work. Reg.
votes for N. H. State governor ; casting for Ilarriman 82 votes, for Gil-
more 153, and for Eastman 324. (Luey's diary.) The Reg. being in
old and dirty barracks, finds it very difficult to keep arms and clothing
clean. Some of the men, a very few, however, are exceeding careless,
and vigorous measures have to be adopted to inculcate practical ideas of
personal cleanliness.

March 11. "Wed. Rainy forenoon Clears, and we enjoy a walk-
round of ten or fifteen miles, in a long Battalion drill ; something special.
The whole 9th Corps is drilling, all up and down the plain as far as we
can see, a grand and stirring scene. Sea breezes, clean camping ground,
splendid rations, for the most part, and the great change in every respect
from the winter camp, has generally transformed the men of the Ninth
Army Cor])s, into fine and magnificent soldiers, self-respecting, erect,
strong, healthy and hearty ; the change in the appearance of the troops,
in one short month is wonderful indeed, while the common camp sports,
frolics, play and entertainment have increased a hundred fold.

18G3 CAMP AT NEWPORT NEWS. 117

March 12. Thiirs. Fine day, but cold. Company and Battalion
drill. Orders arrive at 11 p. m. for the Reg. to be ready, with two days'
cooked rations, to move to-morrow morning at nine o'clock. The cooks
and those in care of rations and camp equipage work all night. A soldier
in camp is always uneasy — to a live soldier camj) life is no life at all.
The boys are glad to escape this everlasting, long, hard drilling, let come
what may, and greet this move with shouts and cheers. We are going
to Suffolk. The enemy, bold and appearing in force, is threatening our
outposts on the Blackwater. and driving them in. The Thirteenth are
desirous to enter upon an active campaign ; to strike into the business for
which they enlisted, to do their part to close this war, and return to the
callings of civil life, in a permanent Union.

CAMP NEAR SUFFOLK.

March 13. Pri. Clear, cold. Thirteenth promptly in line and
ready at 9 a. m. (one account states that the Reg. was all ready to march
at 8 a. m. — an hour ahead of the specified time), and marches quickly to
the ' Landing ' — an old ramshackle affair, and an open bid for accidents.
Here we embark on the steamer ' Croton,' leave the wharf about 11 a. m.,
and sail to Norfolk, sixteen miles, arriving about 2 p. m. ; debark here,
and the boys have two hours to look about the city. As we sail past the
frigate ' Minnesota ' her sailors man the yards and cheer. The weatlier
grows colder and is very damp and chilling. A number of sick men be-
longing to the 13tli, taken a few hours ago from the warm Hospital at
Newport News upon the comfortable steamer, are led, after we cross to
Portsmouth, to some open platform cars. The ride of 20 or 25 miles on
open cars would be almost sure death to several of these men, and Asst.
Surgeon Sullivan — in whose care they are — protests against such treat-
ment. Protests being of no avail he puts his foot down, and refuses, with
all the force he can, to have them put on the open cars at all. A war of
words ensues, and a considerable delay is caused, but the thing is settled.
Box cars, with a good supply of hay, are found, are attached to the train,
the sick men are put in, and we move on toward Suffolk about 5 p. m., the
most of the Reg. on open platform cars. After a slow ride of about 21
miles, we arrive, all half frozen, at our designated camping ground, a
mile below Suffolk, at 6.30 p. m. Too late and dark to pitch our tents,
and the most sleep on the ground in the open air. (" Devilish cold night."
LuEY.) Norfolk and Portsmouth are now very much dilapidated, neg-
lected in appearance, and very dirty.

Gen. Getty's whole Division — 3d Div. 9th A. C. — numbering about
eight thousand men, comes up here to re-enforce Gen. Peck, who has
about eight thousand troops partly entrenched, and is threatened by Con-
federate Gen. Longstreet with 30,000 men, all so posted to the west and
north that they can be concentrated upon Suffolk in twenty-four hours.
They call us now the " Army of Suffolk." The Thirteenth in the 3d

118 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 18C3

Brigade of Getty's Div., Col. Button, 21st Conn., commanding. The
order was issued for the 1st Division to move from Newport News to this
point ; but through some mistake our 3d Division was sent here instead.

March 14. Sat. Very cold, clear. Reg. pitches its shelter tents, in
order, this morning, and fits up camp generally. The main road from
Suffolk to Portsmouth runs very nearly east and west where it passes
our camp, and just below camp forks, into Jericho road to the left, and
White Marsh road to the right. Our camp, on the north side of the
main road, and close upon it, about one mile below Suffolk, is on a strip of
low land, some of it very wet, a mere neck, between two swamps. The
famous Dismal Swamp is near by on the south side, and on the north side,
the Nansemond river, about one mile distant. Brig. Gen. Michael Cor-
coran, of the old 69th New York, has his " Irish Legion," four or five
regiments, encamped about half a mile distant from us, across the road,
southward. They have an enormous assembly tent, quite large enough
for a hus'e circus. (Gen. Corcoran was killed by his horse falling ujion
him. Dec. 22. 1863.)

March 15. Sun. Damp, chilly, hazy. Reg. lays out camp-ground
anew and pitches A tents for the officers. Usual Sunday duties. A
number of us visit Suffolk, and find a low, mean, dirty place, which has
long been wasting in carelessness and neglect. The father of Geo. H.
Rollins of E visits camp and tries to obtain a discharge for his son, but
without success.

March 16. Mon. Fair. Regimental courts martial are instituted.
Drill resumed. On coming up here, the other niglit, the 16th Conn, were
dumped from the cars, half frozen and without officers, tents, rations,
guides, or anything — their train having been cut in two somewhere on
the road. It was as dark as Egypt, and they knew neither where to go
nor where to stay. They started off, however, for somewhere. First
they tumbled down the railroad bank five or eight feet, then rolled over
in water and mud two or three feet deep, then climbed up a steep bank,
smashed through a fence, straggled through brush to clear ground and
halted ; then they nearly tore down a good house for firewood and built
several large fires, and finally a New York regiment, hearing their noise,
sent out and took care of them.

March 17. Tues. Pleasant. Reg. not doing much excepting work on
the camp. St. Patrick's Day, and Corcoran's Irish Legion celebrate it in a
high, barbaric fashion. Gathering all the horses he can, he mounts them
with his best riders ; mounts all the buglers he can obtain ; calls in a
battery of mountain Ijrass-hoAvitzers ; makes an assembly of this large
mounted host — a thousand or two apparently — and ])arades on the road.
Then joined by his whole staff, up somewhere near Suffolk, he brings the
whole cavalcade, in full uniform, bugles sounding furiously, and the
mounted l)ands ])laying " St. Patrick's Day in the Morning," tearing
down the road, and through camp, all their horses galloping at their
highest .speed. A stirring show, a tremendous hullaballoo. Four Irish

1863 CAMP NEAR SUFFOLK. 119

regiments also turn out and march in grand procession through camp ;
their banners very numerous and gay. Each man wears a sprig of ever-
green in his cap. Three mottoes are — " Erin and Columbia ; " " Irish-
men to the rescue ; " " Erin go bragh." The volunteer Irish element in
our ai*my is generally a magniticent fighting material — brave, reliable,
true. The day closes with a torchlight procession, extremely noisy, but
all in good nature. The whole day a wild scene from Old Ireland's wild
hills and vales, acted more wildly in the wildest swamp of Virginia.
Mrs. Stowe in " Dred " describes the Dismal Swamj) most admirably ;
but she never saw it with the annex of three or four thousand* wild Irish-
men, all shouting, yelling and cheering at once.

Some of Corcoran's men during the day cajiture a big negro cook in
the 13th, known as "Nigger Joe," take him to their camp, strip him
nearly naked, and make a " rainbow nigger " of him ; pamting him in
patches, bars and stripes, yellow, green, red, blue — every color they can
muster, and then turn him loose. He returns to the 13th camp, running
as if for dear life, scared half out of his wits, and looking worse than the
evil one. This is another phase of the Irish question.

March 18. Wed. Very cold and disagreeable, some rain. Reg.
building a bridge across the swamp to rifle-pits. Reg. receives whiskey
rations again. Hot, strong coffee is better. The 25th New Jersey,
some of whom broke back through the Thirteenth, on the night of Dec.
13, 1862, in the charge at Fredericksburg, are now encamped about half
a mile below our camp, and near " Jei'icho." They are out, or are going
out, of our Brigade — Col. Dutton's. We seem to be Brigaded vari-
ously, nowadays, for field pur])oses. One thing sure : wherever there is
a ticklish, dangerous and hard place, there they will put the Thirteenth
to hold the line firm. Several prisoners brought into our camp last night
report the enemy in heavy force, above Suffolk, and about 18 miles
distant.

March 19. Thurs. Rainy, snowy, cold. Reg. remains in quarters,
the men rolled up in their blankets to keep warm. Heavy hail storm
towards night. Reveille nowadays at the break of day, and half the
time before daylight. Our cavalry vedettes are about four miles in ad-
vance of the infantry, on this front.

March 20. Fri. Snow storm ; nearly six inches in depth falls over
all the camp, the wind, very severe, piling the snow in heaps, and driving
it into every crack and cranny. The men, in shelter tents only, suffer
severely. As one soldier of the 13th writes : " We have to sleep under
a cotton sheet drawn over a pole. We keep warm by going to bed and
covering up thick." Capt. Stoodley leaves camp for home on fifteen
days' leave.

March 21. Sat. Stormy all day. Reg. in quarters, such as they
are. This storm — hail, snow and rain mixed — caught us in a very
awkward situation. When it commenced, we had just begun to fit up
our camp, having taken down our tents for the purjiose of putting them

120 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

up in a better order ; and were all in a hubbub. No camp could easily
be in a worse condition. Sevei^al men crawled into empty barrels, leaving
their feet out or heads out, and slept as " short " as nature would allow.
Tlie want of proper shelter lays up a large number of men. The com-
pound of snow, hail and mud is nearly a foot deep all over camp. While
we are in this mess, the story comes along to-day, that we are going at
once to Tennessee ! The Colonel of the 89th New York takes pity on the
loth, cleans some barracks, and offers them to Col. Stevens, and our
Colonel declines them, for some reason. It is very difficult Co keej) fires
burning out of doors, and none at all can be had in the tents and all the
men have suffered severely from the cold, the snow and the i"ain.

March 22. Sun. AVarm, very muddy. Reg. in quarters. Usual
Sunday duties so far as possible. Our three days of storm have made
very bad work for the guard and pickets, and the Reg. in camp has been
but a little better off. Many men found themselves in the mornings ac-
tually blanketed deep in snow. In fact some of the situations are posi-
tively laughable as well as pitiable. Three cold, dismal days indeed, and
continuous snow, hail and rain for over 48 hours. Warmer to-day, how-
ever. A sharp skirmish is reported at the outposts, where we have
heard heavy firing to-day. A few rebel prisoners come in to-night, and
one of them on being asked what regiment he belonged to, replied : " To
Lorngstrit's Ormy Co', er'ekn." ('' Co' " for Corps.) One man of the
13th writes of to-day : " It has snowed and rained all the time for 48
hours, and we have had to lie in our tents to keep from freezing. Mud
from six inches to six feet deep. Saw an immense host of niggers, and
their young ones of all sizes and colors. I killed two snakes to-day."
Probably a true mixture ! The snakes entered many of the tents for
shelter, when the storm commenced.

March 23. Mon. Fine day and warm. It is said that the enemy's
troops along the Blackwater have no shelter at all, excepting such as they
can improvise out of pine boughs, etc. They would better come down and
take our camp — it is a beauty. We would soon be mutually warmed up,
and we all need it. A party from the Reg. attended church yesterday
in Suffolk. The citizens kept away ; none of them will attend church
where there are any Yankees. Wags put up signs : " AU seats free I "
Many officers in the 13th are short of funds, while a recent order de-
prives them of the privilege of obtaining rations from the Commissary on
credit I But where is the officer in the Thirteenth stupid enough to
starve for his country ? The whole land flows with milk and honey —
for those who know where to send a spry forager to procm*e them.

March 24. Tues. Cloudy ; showery afternoon. Dress-parade at
sundown. Our ])ickets go out every morning for 24 hours. A thin line
of cavalry vedettes are stationed about four miles from camj) ; the in-
fantry outposts about 3^ miles from camp. The worst danger is from
" Bush-whackers," men who pretend to be farmers in the daytime, and
who shoot our pickets at night. vSurgeon Richardson returns to the Reg.

1863 CAMP NEAR SUFFOLK. 121

to-night. Regimental Hospital moved to a dry piece of ground, and a
board floor laid.

March 25. Wed. Fair. Reg. drills all day. Detail cutting logs.
We already have quite a sti'ong line of earth-works around our camp.

March 26. Thurs. Fair. Nights very cold. Heavy detail, 200
men, sent out on picket ; squad drill in afternoon. Along here one day
a detail from the Thirteenth penetrated the Dismal Swamp for about
two miles, making their way at times on floating logs. They came out
near a canal, where they jjassed the night, and then returned to camp,
having had enough of that kind of scouting. The reverberations of a
cannon shot heard in the swamp are deafening. Lieut. Forbush, officer
of the day, has a large quantity of white, clean sand hauled into camp
to-day, and dresses the sidewalks with it, covering up the black, vile mud.
A very great inq)rovement.

March 27. Fri. Fair. Pickets return. Company drill. Capt. Dodge
of B returns from leave. Some of the companies now have quite com-
fortable quarters, but the camp-ground is very wet. The picket sent to-
day from the Reg. numbers 200 men, with Lt. Col. Bowers, Major
Storer, Captains Grantman, Julian and Buzzell, and Lieuts. Wilson, Cui--
tis. Sawyer and Saunders. Ten men are sent to work on a bridge, forty
are detailed for fatigue, in care of camp, etc., and sixty for guard duty of
various sorts. The rest drill, in squads, and on Brigade drill also. Capt.
Bradley, in temporary command of the Reg. in camp, holils a Battalion
drill with less than five men to a company, and goes through all the
movements, strictly according to " Casey." A sample day.

Our " wells " here are made by sinking a flour barrel in the ground.
The water tastes as a brick yard, or a new, wet country road might taste.
The color a '•yellowish-nasty." The reptiles are just now thawing out,
and these little wells are their chief delight. A man's coffee of a morn-
ing is more refreshing, if, when he goes to his well for water, he first
takes a stick, and drives out of the water its last night's occupants — a
snake or two, some toads, and frogs, and lizards, and a multitude of in-
sects ; for then he dips up their bed clothes, so to speak, and makes his
coffee out of their unwashed linen. If he has no well, he varies the fla-
vor, by procuring water from a pool, where in addition to the above list
of regular boarders, there have bivouacked for a period, some old shoes,
fags, bones and a few turtles. This is a little sketch of a No 1 coffee-
vater well. " You go for a soldier — and you take your chances."

Sergt. Gibbs of E.

March 28. Sat. Cloudy, very windy. Heavy thunder storm about
one p. m. '• Linen tents slacken when wet, and the wind plays the
Dickens with them to-day ; walloping them off the poles, and tearing out
the lopes." The men have to turn out under arms at dayUght ; no
furloughs allowed ; signs of coming trouble. The 11th Penn. cavalry
have on exhibition the Confederate '' Rocketts Battery," recently cap-
tured.

122 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

March 29. Sun. Fair ; very cold at night. Regimental inspection
in the t'oreiioon ; brigade Dress-parade in the afternoon ; both well done.
A few members of the Reg. attend church — Episcopal — in Suffolk
town. Chaplain Jones at home on leave.

Charles A. Lull, our drummer-boy, has reddish yellow hair. He and
Ira E. Wright, the other drummer-boy, greatly enjoy a chat with Lt.
Col. Bowers. The writer called at the tent of his most excellent friend
Lt. Col. Bowers and found these two boys there. After they withdrew,
the Lt. Colonel turned to the writer, and said : " These boys make me
feel young again. Wright and that brass-mounted boy are the oldest
men in this Division ; I am but a mere youth compared with them —
but I like these promjjt, smart boys."

Surgeon George B. Twitchell went with the Regiment into Virginia
and remained with it during the most of the time up to the battle of
Fredericksburg, but during that battle he was detained in Washington.
His eminent abilities soon led to his being detailed as Brigade Surgeon
on the staff of Arthur H. Dntton, Colonel of the 21st Conn, comdg. 3d
Brigade 3d Div. 9th Army Corjjs, in December 1862. He did not
again return to the Thirteenth, and was present in no battle where the
Thirteenth was engaged. March 24, 1863, he resigned to receive pro-
motion, having been appointed Surgeon U. S. Vols, by commission dated
January 7, 1863, and bearing the signatures of President Abraham
Lincoln, and Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. On receiving this
appointment he was ordered to report to Gen. U. S. Grant, then com-
manding De})t. of Tennessee, and was assigned to duty as Surgeon in
Chief of the 7th Division of the 17th Army Corj^s, about April 15, 1863.
After the fall of Vicksburg, July 4, 1863, he was assigned to duty as
Surgeon in Chief of the 6tli Division of the 17th Army Corps, at which
post he remained until he W'as honorably discharged the service because
of disability, Sept. 15, 1863. He was ever a faithful, true friend to the
Thirteenth, both during the war and afterwards.

March 30. Mon. Cloudy, cold ; showery afternoon. Brigade drill.
Dress-parade at sundown. A numl)er of men sent with Descriptions to
Battery A, Heavy Artillery, as a permanent detail.

March 31. Tues. Rained heavily all last night and this forenoon ;
afternoon cold and clear. Mud deep ; no drill. March is as hard and
blustering South as North. The Reg. ordered to send a strong picket tJ
near the small-pox Hospital on Jericho Creek about three miles from
camp. The Brigade, all excepting the 13th, are ordered to build and
garrison forts. This means any amount of marching-about for our Reg.
A large force of cavalry passes camp outward bound.

April 1. "Wed. Cold, fair, a high wind. Battalion drill, and the wind
makes such a noise that we cannot hear the orders. Negroes find their
way to our camp — out of slavery, fresh — with steers and cows harnessed
to carts just as horses are, bits and all. and are the happiest persons in
the whole Confederacy. On picket to-day "Wooster E. Woodbury of C

1863 CA:\IP near SUFFOLK. 123

climbed a tall pine-tree near the small-pox Hospital, Suffolk, to look
within the enemy's lines over the river ; one of the bravest acts clone in
the Regiment, the tree being within easy rifle-shot of the rebels.

April 2. Thurs. Cold. Company drill. It is not an unusual thing
here now for a soldier, on rising in the morning, to shake out of his bhm-
kets a full-grown snake, a copperhead or moccasin. These cool nights
cause the snakes to desire warm bedfellows.

April 3. Fri. Cold and windy. We sign Pay-rolls for four months'
pay now due, and draw A tents. Two good things at once. An A tent
is small, but when mounted on walls of logs — " stockaded " — it makes a
good roof, and holds on better than any other. The amount of shamming,
'' playing sick," in the Reg. becomes a serious question. Rheumatism is
the favorite plea. A hypodermic injection in the region of the muscle
complained of works some wonderful cures — especially of all desire for
another injection. Our Surgeon is a first-class genius.

April 4. Sat. Rainy, cold, windy, and snow falls to-night to the
depth of about six inches. No drill. Heavy detail on picket, a terrible
work in this weather. Loud cannonade heard about dark. Our cavalry
have a brush with the enemy, a few miles above our camp, and drive
him ; but four horses, with empty saddles, come slowly back this morn-
ing into camp. Capt. Stoodley returns to the regiment from leave.
Our pickets leave camp under Capt. Goss at 8 a. m., and go out about
five miles on the line that runs from the railroad to the Nansemond,
where there are two Union gunboats. The night is very dark, a wet snow
falling from 4 p. m. until near morning, then followed by a heavy rain.
The pickets have no shelter. Division teams and ambulances come to
camp to-day. Ex- Lieutenant Albe Holmes of H, Avho resigned Feb. 19,
1863, is nominated by Lieut. Gafney for sutler of the 13th, and is to-day
elected by a unanimous vote — save one.

April 5. Sun. Cold, some rain. No work outside of quarters, ex-
cept a Dress-parade at sundown. Last night, an April snow storm, of
nearly six inches, gave us the parting blow of winter. It has been cold,
wet and generally hard weather for campaigning since we came over here.
The weather is a great item in the soldier's life when in the field. He is
often confined to one spot for many hours of extreme exposure, while all
his life is spent practically out of doors. Pickets are relieved at 11 a. m.
and return to camji through snow and mud knee deep. A tents arrive
for the men of the 13th.

" I was posted to-day a sentinel in front of Col. Stevens' Hdqrs.
There was a continual stream of ofiicers — Generals, Colonels, and others —
calling upon the Colonel, and I was kept very busy saluting them as they
passed in and out. Just before I was relieved, Adjt. Bout well came out
of Col. Stevens' tent, with paper and pencil in hand, and said that Col.
Stevens wished my name and company. Knowing that I had done nothing
wrong, and had been proni])t and correct in my salutes. I did not feel
much worried, but still I was anxious to know what it meant. Well, at

124 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT.

Dress-parade this afternoon, an order was read ai)})ointing me to the posi-
tion of left general guide of the Regiment. As the directions are that :
' The two best drilled Sergeants in the regiment shall act as right and
left general guides,' I naturally felt complimented by being selected from
nearly a thousand men — or boys as we were then — and placed in such
a responsible position. I acted in this ca})acity until April 24, 1864, when
I was detached for duty at Division Headquarters."

Wm. H. Spiller, Co. C.

April 6. Mon. Fair. Reg. paid to March 1, 1863, for four months.
Had a review instead of a Dress-parade. Bad — too much nuul. Reg.
ordered to turn out under arms at daylight ; to remain under arms half
an hour, then stack arms in line of battle. About a dozen men from each
company are daily detailed for picket duty, and remain in camp, armed
and equipped for an instant call.

April 7. Tues. Fair. Battalion drill on rough ground. The new
greenbacks go largely to Suffolk, and find a poor market. We have seen
but few ladies since leaving the vicinity of Washington last December.
Some of the men say that for four months they have not set eyes upon a
white woman. Under these circumstances men are somewhat excusable
for staring when a white woman appears. Two a])peared to-day in Suf-
folk, visiting town, from a distant plantation, on a shopping tour, and
elegantly clad. They are young, handsome, and aristocratic in appear-
ance. They are seen to enter a dry goods store, and we naturally wait to
see them when they come out — if they don't keep us waiting too long.
Presently they appear, take their carriage and drive off. Carriage — a
little, old, rickety, country " ding-cart " on two wheels, that go wabble-
wabble — the two beautiful ladies sit on straw spread on the bottom of the
cart ; driver — a little, ragged darkey mounted on a high stool in the
front part of the cart ; harness — a combination utterly tangled, of strings
and ropes, with many ends hanging ; team — a small, poor, bony, dirty,
yellow-red cow! No " antique and horrible " procession ever had a more
ridiculous turn-out. The rebels had taken from the family all movable
property of any value, for military purposes, as they said.

April 8. Wed. Fair. Grand Review of the 3d Division by Gen.
Peck and Gen. Getty, in the afternoon. Verj' tiresome in the mud, by
which the troops are badly spattered, but still a fine review. Our A tents
are now mounted for roofs on log walls about three feet high. Bunks
(beds) are made on each side, and across the back end. A bunk is made
in this way : four forked sticks are driven into the ground, and left stand-
ing about one foot high. In these forks strong sticks are placed cross-
wise the bunk, and upon these are placed long, small poles, lengthwise the
bunk. Spread upon the poles are red-cedar boughs, if possible to pro-
cure them, or those of the pine, or leaves, hay, or what best can be had.
On the boughs is spread a rubber blanket ; the woolen blankets are used
to roll one's self up in. The result is a springy, elastic and easy bed fit
for the warrior gods tliemselvcs ; or for a better ])ers()n — the Union sol-
dier. Red-cedar boughs make the best bed. fragrant and soporific.

1863

CAMP NEAR SUFFOLK. 125

April 9. Thurs. Fair. Company and Battalion drill. Reg. works
hard and long on its miserable canip-grounds, makes streets, digs ditches,
etc., to give it the semblance of dry ground. The whole Dismal Swamp
region is a vast peat bog, and is like a sponge full of water. Seven bad
men, for doing bad deeds, sit on a rail near the guard-house, for several
hours. The contrivance is called the " guard-house mule ; " it raises them
about ten feet above the ground — a fine perch for human buzzards. There
is a class of men in the army who, on the eve of any move, put up a job
to make trouble, for the purpose of being placed under arrest, and so es-
cape duty, and, may be, danger. They plan for this weeks ahead. They
are caught, occasionally and deserve a severe punishment. A few hun-
dred of them would paralyze a brigade.

Because of the little excitement along the front, the colored people are
hurrying within our lines in large numbers. They come in poor, desti-
tute, starved and ragged. Rations are delivered them by the government.
While the adults excite some sympathy among the men, it is naturally
less than the black children receive. The odd scraps of the soldiers'
poorest rations are better food than these little fellows have been accus-
tomed to receiving ; and they gather about the men at their meals, watch-
ing every motion with their large, pathetic, longing eyes. As a result
they receive many a nice fresh lunch ; but while their mouths are equally
full of food and flooding thanks, both their hands are ready to steal all
they can reach and hold — so much for slavery's moral training. The
men hire the negroes to sing and dance ; it is a source of unending amuse-
ment.

SIEGE OF SUFFOLK.

April 10. Fri. Fair, warm. The camp was full of rumors all last
night. Many officers kept awake nearly all night, expecting momentarily
to be called out, and to meet the enemy. The camp guard were ordered
to allow no man to pass out or in without satisfactory pajjers, and the re-
sult was a motley gathering at the guard-house. Early this morning the
arms and ammunition of every man in camp are closely examined, and a
special muster is made of all the troops in our Division. At 7 a. m. Com-
panies A, H, and G, with Major Storer in command, leave camp and go
down on the Nansemond three or four miles, a part for picket, and a part
to garrison a fort. The 21st Conn., on the river about four miles below
Suffolk, have a A^ery fine camp, and are building their famous " Fort Con-
necticut." One of these heavy artillerymen of the 21st, as our pickets
pass their camp, assumes a contemptuous manner and tone, and asks
Lieut. Churchill where — as he was pleased to call us — '' this dirty Thir-
teenth " is going. Churchill replies : '' We 're going, of course, to relieve
the 21st Conn. — who are frightened by the muski'ats down here." This
ended the conversation. Lieut. Churchill was quick at upsetting sauce-
boxes.

While the other seven companies of the Reg., left in camp, are on
Dress-jiarade about 5 p. m., orders arrive for them to march. They stack
arms, break ranks, go to quarters, pack up, and are in line again in less
than fifteen minutes — all i-eady. The majority were back in their
places in eleven minutes. They start about 6.30 p. m. and march until
10.30 p. m., and about nine miles down the Nansemond, before having
supper; and then lay on their arms all night — on the bare, wet ground,
in thick woods, and in line of battle — prejjared for an instant move.

Gen. Longstreet's first regular advance in force upon our lines is made
to-day, and he is expected to attempt to force a passage of the river to-
night at this point where we lay ; for which purpose he has had a road-
way, winding and masked, cut down the sloping bank to the water's edge
just opposite our place of bivouac. We hope he will try it. The Thir-
teenth, the 4th R. L and the 103d N. Y. occu})y to-night a position di-
rectly opposite the mouth of Western Branch and are enjoined to be
prepared for action ; the night here, however, passes in quiet, though we
can hear heavy firing in the distance. Troops ordered to New Berne are
held here for a time as a measure of safety. A soldier of the Reg. writes
home — and it shows the uncertainty of campaigning life : " The drums
to-day beat the call for Dress-jjarade as usual. On assembling, the men
are ordered to hurry to their tents, get one day's rations, their blankets,
etc., and to fall in again as soon as possible. This done, we were soon on
our way for a place unknown to us, and marched about ten miles."

18G3 SIEGE OF SUFFOLK. 127

April 11. Sat. Clear. Now come the shovels. We commence at
tlie first gleam of daylight this morning to dig rifle-pits and trenches, and
to build a fort close upon the bank of the Nansemond, working in connec-
tion with the 4th R. I. We work all day shoveling, turn in at dark, are
again called about 9 p. m., and start on a hasty march back again to our
camp near Suffolk, leaving all our provisions, supplies and heavy baggage
on the river bank. Some of our men fall asleep while marching, trij)
their toes, and fall headlong. Companies G and H are relieved, but
Company A, Capt. Grantman, is left for two or three days ; and when
the men of the loth come again, to relieve tliem. Company A thinks they
may be the enemy, prepares for a fight, and halts them at a long distance,
until they find out who are coming. Capt. Grantman has no counter-
sign, hence his extreme caution. The Union troops stationed across the
Nansemond are withdrawn to-night, under cover of the gunboat ' Stepping
Stones,' Capt. C. C Harris, and the bridge at Suffolk is destroyed. The
Long-roll resounds, twice to-night, all up and down the Union lines.

Gen. Peck is chief in command. Gen. Getty has command of the river
defenses. The story in camp is that Gen. Longstreet, counting upon his
greatly superior numbers, hoped to cut Gen. Peck's troops off, by crossing
the river in overwhelming force, and so capture the entire garrison ; and
is greatly ' non-plused ' when he finds Gen. Getty's troops posted in
force all along the river from Hill's Point to Suffolk, and ready to meet
him at every point.

April 12. Sun. A pleasant day. Col. Corcoran shot and killed
Lt. Col. Kimball, 9th N. Y., on the picket line at 4 o'clock this morning.
The cause of the shooting is unknown.

Reg. arrives at camp near Suffolk about 1.30 a. rn., and turns in for a
little rest — only to be called out again immediately ; the enemy attacking
on the Somerton and Edenton roads. Many of our men work on a bridge,
every available man busy. Before the day is out we form in line in our
rifle-pits near the river, two or three miles below Suffolk. Off to our left
troops are hastily forming line — a long line of battle — for the enemy
has near there driven in our pickets. Things grow decidedly interesting
and lively, the muskets rattling, the cannon booming, the shells flying.
There is nothing under the sun so exhilarating, inspiriting, and full of life
and blood-stirring snaj), as a sharp fight, when once you are at it. The
day is quite warm, and some very rapid movements cause a number of
our weaker men to fall out. The sudden stir involves rather more than
a brigade, quite a little army. The enemy in large force is in plain
view on the Petersburg Railroad, nortliward and west of town. Sharp
picket firing all day. Night again finds us lying on our arms, on the
ground, and as a whole without tents or cover. The citizens are held in
Suffolk to prevent the enemy from shelling the city.

April 13. Mon. Rainy a. m., fair p. m. Now comes the tug of war,
Reg. in line at 5 a. m. in the streets of their old camp — seven companies,
the rest on picket. The Reg. relieves the 10th N. H. on the picket

128 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

line, along- Jericho canal, northeast of town, about 9 a. m., and are set at
work on the defenses near Fort Jericho, which conniiands the raih'oads to
Norfolk. The 10th N. H. go farther down the river. We are on the
southeast side of tlie Nansemond with about 16,000 men, in a long, thin
line as a whole. Gen. Longstreet's army, by Gen. Peck estimated at
40,000 men, is on the other side of the river, and threatening in force.
He is expected to attack us to-night, and rifle-pits and defenses are being
made with all possible dispatch. Houses and buildings are burning on all
sides. The enemy dis^les one of our gunboats, amid a tremendous can-
nonading nearby, and we can hear and see the bursting shells — near
enough !

A bridge is built to-day across a creek and marsh — 100 to 150 feet
wide — in an incredibly short period of time. The men of the Thirteenth
stack arms, cut trees and bring them on their shoulders. Stringers are
laid on forked trees set on end opposite each other in the water and mud,
the tops inclining inward a very little, and the logs, ten or twelve feet
long, are laid on about as rapidly as they can be counted. A layer of
brush and earth completes the bridge. Our column, desiring to cross, has
merely halted a few minutes, when the bridge is all completed, and the
troops proceed on their way. A few men add more supports, and the
bridge is ready for artillery, which soon follows. The churches in Suf-
folk are to be used as hospitals in case of a battle, and Asst. Surgeon Sulli-
van is ordered to report at the Methodist church when the battle begins.

The entire native population, excepting the negroes, are non-committal,
and appear to answer all questions evasively, or dodglngly. They are
free with opinions — that always look two ways at once. Their most
positive assertions are rendered utterly valueless by their everlasting
"• er'ekn " appended to every sentence. The Southron's " I reckon " beats
the Yankee's " I kalkerlate " all out of time and number. The following
expression by a native shows the folly of it : " Jigger my buttons, 'f I
ain't tiud of this dog'ond rackit — er'ekn."

April 14. Tues. Fair; a few showers. Reg. returns to the old
camp near Suffolk to-night, having been relieved on the picket line ; but
is called into the front lines again at midnight. Our gunboats and the
enemy's batteries make midnight hideous. We have been scattered all
along the river and Jericho Creek and canal, for three or four miles ; a
sort of flying column. Where we are guarding the section of line is con-
sidered very important, and we are worked to the limit of endurance. At
night detachments from the Reg. march a few miles, then halt and build
camp-fires — ten or a dozen fires nearly in a line ; wdien they are well
a-burning, we move again for a few miles, halt, and built more cam})-fires ;
then move again, and so repeat the deception over and over again — a
deception innocent, excepting in reference to the rail fences burnt up.
The zealous enemy shells these mock cam]>-fires. " We never knew of his
hitting but one fire ; that was severely wounded by a shell, and die'd
(out) before morning.'" While the boys were building these mock camp-

1863 SIEGE OF SUFFOLK. 129

fires last night, one old fellow stood in his front door-way and for half an
hour poured out a perfect ' hypermyriorama ' of awful and eternal dam-
nation experiences and places, and scenes most foul and horrid, for every
agency under the sun — and above it — that was in any way or degree
responsible for this war or was carrying it on. He piled in one promiscu-
ous condemned heap every one he could think of, from a rebel sutler
down to the leaders of the Confederacy (as he graded them) and from the
meanest Yankee soldier up to President Lincoln — all because the soldiers
burned up ten rods of a rickety old rail fence on his paternal acres now
too poor to grow wolf- grass.

Col. Corcoran's Irish Legion have a severe brush — on the 11th to
14th — with the enemy on the Edenton road ; the 21st Conn, in support.
There has been heavy firing all day up to 5 p. m., and Gen. Peck states
that the enemy attacks along the Nansemond with 11,000 men. This
afternoon, after a four hours' bombardment — from about 1 p. m. — three
of our gunboats silence a heavy rebel shore-battery on the river. Many
houses are torn down in and about Suffolk, to obtain an unobstructed
range for our guns. A large force of Union artillery comes in and passes
to the front this afternoon. Company A, 13th, returns to the Regiment.

April 15. Wed. Very rainy. About midnight, last night, the Reg.
turned out of camp in great haste and occupied the front rifle-pits (not far
from our camp near Suffolk) and at daylight form in line as a support for
a battery in action on the river bank, where the enemy is expected to at-
tempt a crossing. Later in the forenoon, for a couple of hours, the firing
on our front is very severe, the lines very close ; an affair of the pickets
and artillery. The gunboats are now, noon, shelling the woods where the
enemy is supposed to be — exceeding noisy business. About sunset three
companies of the 13th go with the 10th N. H. and a section of the Sec-
ond Wisconsin Battery, all under command of Col. Donohoe of the 10th,
to a point near Fort Connecticut, arriving about 11 j). m., and there work
and skirmish all night ; are absent 48 hours. A part of this expedition
crosses the river, reconnoitres the enemy's camp, have a brush with his
pickets, and returns without loss. The Thirteenth is called into line three
times to-night, each time by a false alarm. Sergeant Batchellor of D
writes : " A solid shot came near Jesse W. Place of D, and knocked him
over without breaking the skin. He jumped up, ran as far as he could,
,and then fell. He will probably recover in a few days."

April 16. Thiors. Showery and sunny. The cannonading brings
rain, as it usually does. About 9 a. m. the enemy's batteries and our
gunboats have a duel, the pickets and sharpshooters firing continuously
all the time during the artillery fire. The Reg. in rifle-pits and busy
firing too. The narrow river divides the two armies, and both banks are
honeycombed with defenses, and swarming with men. " Show your head
— and soon you are dead." When a bullet strikes a man's head, it makes
H sound like a blow upon a basket of sea shells, and causes no possible
pain. A bullet striking a man's body makes a dull thud, or crack if a

130 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

bone is struck. There has heen an increasing cannonading and picket
firing for these last five or six days. Shells and bullets ai-e flying at all
times, and in every direction. But the distance disturbs aim, and few are
hurt ; besides there is much timber for shelter. The larger part of tlie
13th are moved up the river, about four miles this afternoon. The 9th
Vermont comes up as a re-enforcement.

April 17. Fri. Fair, warm. Reg. on picket near Fort Jericho.
Lively firing on both sides — we cannot show anything without calling over
a rebel bullet. A hat held up on a spade brings several bullets, and two
of them striking the sj^ade are elegantly flattened. The firing of muskets
and cannon, far and near for many miles, is incessant. Every night
picks, shovels and axes, thousands of them, are busy. Forts grow up in
a night — and cut full sets of teeth. Jonahs gourd and Jack's l)ean-
stalk are fair types of the growth of Gen. Peck's and Gen. Getty's de-
fensive works along the Nansemond. The enemy is equally busy.
The constant alai'ms, watchings, marchings, picket duty, shoveling, chop-
ping, and exposure to rain and cold, night and day, are enough to wear
out men of steel. The men of the 13th do their share of the hard work,
and some thiidc a little more. Heavy rercnforcements join us, fifteen or
twenty regiments in the last twenty-four hours.

" A New Hampshire soldier wearily digging in the small hours of the
night, called out to his neighbor : ' I say. Bill. I hope Old Peck will die
two weeks before I do.' ' Why so ? ' asked Bill. ' Because he will have
hell so strongly fortified, in that time, that I can't get in.' Then Bill
and his neighbor, greatly encouraged, again commence shoveling."

April 18. Sat. Fair, warm. Reg. everywhere ; marching, digging,
skirmishing, and building mock camp-fires at night. The enemy's shells
and bullets thicker than ever. The boys think that the enemy has
struck a lead mine. In a short time to-day, one of the Thirteenth's picket
posts, entrenched on the river, fires over forty rounds per man. The
enemy equally busy in replying. A day of severe picket firing all along
the river. The line of the Nansemond is divided between Colonels Button
and Harland ; the Thirteenth to-day holding the position next below the
mouth of Jericho Creek. (Official Report.) Two gunboats — one of
them aground — have a six hours' contest with the Hill's Point Battery.
Both escape, badly riddled. Gen. Dix sends up a dispatch highly com-
plimenting Gen. Peck's troops. Adjt. Boutwell returns to duty. Under
date of to-day General Dix commanding the Union forces here says of
the enemy : " We have ascertained that the enemy's force is about 38.000
men ; they have come for a campaign, and not for a raid or diversion."

Now the writer must again speak of himself — how to-day a necessity
was laid upon him. A few men of the Thirteenth are in a rifle-pit, dug
in a wide, bare space on the river bank, and flanked by a few trees. The
first fort below the mouth of Jericho Creek is situated a few rods to the
right, and there is a spring of water a few rods to the left, in a little
brush. The men are very thirsty, and Charles F. Gerrish of E volun-

1863 SIEGE OF SUFFOLK. 131

teers to go for water — for Gerrish scarcely knows what fear is. He
takes several canteens, ties the strings together, springs out of the pit, and
makes a rush for the spring. He is ahnost instantly shot in the thigh, and
one leg is utterly disabled. He falls, drops the canteens a rod from the
pit, and wi'iggles and scrambles back into the pit. where he must lie until
night. His wound is a very bad one, liis jacknife being broken in pieces
and driven into his thigh with the bullet. Water now must be had —
and the writer must go for it. There is no alternative, so he throws off
his coat, not thinking of his white flannel shirt sleeves, springs out of the
pit, picks up the canteens dropped by Gerrish, and succeeds in reaching
the spring, filling the canteens, and returning to the rifle-pit, among many
bullets, unharmed. He is now very warm, and keeps his coat off. The
pit is so small that a spade must be had to enlarge it ; all on account of
Geri'ish, who is a tall man, lying at full length on the bottom of the pit,
and suffering unutterable tortures. The writer must now go to the fort —
50 to 60 yards distant — for a spade, and so he springs again out of the
pit, and as swiftly as possible runs the gauntlet of the enemy's fire to the
foi't ; there regains his breath, takes two spades, holds them so as to pro-
tect his head with one and his side with the other, and thus returns to the
pit. While returning with the spades, he is not aware that the enemy
fires at him one single shot — and at night he is told at the fort that the
enemy clieered him. The enemy possibly recognized the white shirt
sleeves. There is no credit in any of this — the writer had to go.

April 19. Sun. Fair. Capt. Stoodley with about a dozen men from
Company G goes out on the ' Neck,' either really or almost an island, in
a great bend of the river, where they receive the fire of the enemy from
all sides at once. How they ever got safely out of the scrape is a wonder.
Until to-day the Reg. has been in the rifle-pits along the Nansemond, a
part of the line about two miles below Suffolk, and stretched out for a
long distance on ' Jericho Point.' Most of the firing at long range, and
a great deal of it ; comparatively quiet, however, to-day, and the whole
Reg., with the exception of a few pickets who went into the rifle-pits at
2 p. m., is once more together to-night. Col. Stevens has charge of the
Jericho Point defenses.

The very brilliant Hill's Point Battery affair occurs about sunset to-
night. This afternoon six companies of the 8th Conn, and six companies
of the 89th N. Y., in all about 280 men, under Col. John E. Ward of the
8th Conn, (a part of the expedition passing Ft. Connecticut at 2 p. m.), go
to the river and embark on the ' Stepping Stones,' and at dusk suddenly
attack Fort Huger (pronounced Hn-jee) Located on the forks near Reed's
Ferry, practically the left of Gen. Longstreet's line, and the last earth-
work on his left. Our forces capture two 24-pounders and four 12-pound-
ers, brass cannon (taken from us at Harper's Ferry), and 100 to 150
prisoners. The affair was a combined attack by our sailors and infantry
— both of whom seem to have been first in entering the fort ; though it
appears that the sailors, knowing most of the ground, were a little ahead.

132 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

At any rate the affair was very brilliant, and a great discouragement to
the enemy, who never afterwards seemed to care much about permanently
holding Hill's Point, and gave his attention to the narrower part of the
river nearer Suffolk. Hill's Point lies near where the river widens into a
bay. Gen. Getty holding the right of Gen. Peck's line, along the river
and Jericho Creek — or ' Western Branch,' — had to do with Gen. Long-
street's centre and left. One of these captured brass cannon had a hole
scooped out of one side of it by a large grape shot — showing the force of
grape. The 10th N. H. had a hand in the Ft. Huger affair, as a reserve-
It is said that the rebel commander, seeing himself overpowered, surren-
dered instanter to save life, calling out : " We cave, we cave, don't fire ; "
and upon his exchange was cashiered for losing the fort by such a sur.
])rise and capture. A rebel in this captured battery tried to desert this
afternoon, was caught in the act and tied hand and foot. When the
rebels saw they must abandon their battery, tliey blew the fellow's brains
out ; and so our men found him to-night, nearly headless, still tied, and
stretched out on the ground within the fort.

April 20. Mon. Rainy. Reg. on picket day and night about two
miles from camp. Re-enforcements coming in all day in large numbers.
Our men have a few hours' respite now and then, march back from the
rifle-pits into the pines, lie down in some little ravine and take a nap,
while the bullets and shells fly across overhead — the sort of angels that
sing above and around the soldier's couch. At five o'clock p. m. we are
hurriedly moved up to within about twenty rods of our rifle-trenches, and
are formed in line of battle in reserve. The enemy seem to act to-day
over the Ft. Huger affair like hornets whose nest has received a punch
with a pole ; and they are expected to resent it by a dash to-night. One
soldier remarks : " Guess Longstreet swared." When the brave expedi-
tion with their trophies of captured guns and prisoners — among them a
number of very tall Texans — march up through and along our lines, they
are cheered to the echo. A soldier of the 13th writes : *' Gen. Getty says
he can depend on the 13th, and I guess he means it — by the way he
makes us hang to these lines."

The labor expended in chopping, shoveling, screen and gambion mak-
ing is enormous. One of these mornings the 8th Conn, wake up to find
their camp-flag replaced by a sheet, on which is painted in large letters :
" Peck's Avengers, or the Basket-makers of the Nansemond."

Col. Stevens is fond of trying to gain information from the front, and
to learn what kind of land — if any at all — there is in the swamp of
Jericho Creek between our lines and the edge of the river toward the
enemy ; thinks he may want to run a cannon out there, and therefore
desires a brave and trusty man to move out and explore. Upon errands
of this sort he has sent, several times. First Sergeant Charles M. Kittredge
of B with two or three men. It is like going into the jaws of death, and
into the gulf of the bottomless pit, at one and the same time — the whole
region is a slough. Nevertheless, Kittredge goes with his men, and

1863 SIEGE OF SUFFOLK. 133

managing to return alive, reports each time that there is no dry land to
be seen in that vicinity. One of the men, on an occasion like this, re-
ported to the Colonel that : " No man could get a cannon out there on a
boat — it was so infernally wet."

April 21. Tues. Showery, cold. Reg. on picket day and night.
We have been operating for the most of the time in these last two weeks
along the Nanseniond river bank, and the shores of Jericho Creek, on
the left, to Battery Morris near the island, on the right — space enough,
and work enough, for two regiments, the place an intricate succession
of creeks and miry swamjjs. We are relieved by the 21st Conn., which
remains on the same line here until May 2d. Some of the men, under
the hard strain, become so tired and used up that they go to sleep while
marching, trip, and fall headlong into the brush. Officers of the guards
and pickets have to be continually moving along the sentry line, both day
and night, lest some poor, overworked man shall fall asleep) at his post,
and invite disaster.

We remain late to-day in line of battle in reserve, and lie on our arms
until midnight, when we are all suddenly called up — " routed out in a
hurry " — and in great haste go forward into our rifle-pits. The night
passes in comparative quiet, however, except for one incident. We are on
a tongue of land entering the river northward. On the end of it are two
cannon in a little redoubt. To the right of it, sheltered by the bank, is a
gunboat, carrying one very large gun. A part of the Thirteenth are in
the rifle-pits, a part in the rear of them on the grass and weeds, with no
cover but the skies, and nearly all are sound asleep. Now, one man in
the Regiment is a little traveling tin-store. He carries an iron spider and
more tin dippers and tin plates than any other three men, and sleeps with
them all tied upon him. When the night is at nearly the stillest hour the
big gunboat cannon is fired not 100 feet distant from us, and the huge
shell tears across the tongue of land, directly over our heads, with a terrific
roar, and bursts short. Our hero is roused from sound sleep by the hide-
ous noise, springs high into the air with a loud scream, loses his balance
and falls back in a heap and with a great rattle and crash of tin. The
whole Regiment is waked by the gunboat's discharge, and our hero fur-
nishes the bit of comedy necessary to relieve the unpleasant annoyance.
The boys laugh at him heartily while swearing at the gunboat — then all
go to sleep again. He is ordered to reduce his stock, both of his tin and
his scream. He is joked unmercifully about the affair.

The picket reserve, a part from the Thirteenth, have to lie all of one
night within fifty feet of two field-pieces, wliile they are being fired, alter-
nately, every five minutes. They sleep, however, through the incessant
rap — rap — rap, so very tired are they. A constant succession of simi-
lar sounds rather conduces to drowsiness. One man said it made him
" feel sleepy just the same as good Parson Blank's liturgy used to do, up
in Yanktown."

April 22. Wed. Clear, cold. Reg. assembles at 10 a. m., and

134 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 18G3

returns to our old camp, near Suffolk, arriving at noon, having been re-
lieved in the night again by the 21st Conn. Capt. Goss cheers himself
and enlivens the camp by playing his flute. Thirteenth transferred to
Gen. Harland's Brigade. This noon ends a period of thirteen days and
twelve nights out of camp in tlie swamps of the Nansemond ; all the time
under lire, with little sleep, having no shelter worth the name, in very
much rain, fording brook, swamp and creek, at constant picket duty,
choi)ping and work on entrenchments, and in hourly expectation of an
attack by the enemy. Every member of the Thirteenth has worked from
five to ten pounds off his weight, and used up nearly half his effective
strength. Rest is imperative. Our clothing, torn and muddy, looks as if
it had been run through a threshing machine, been washed in the brick-
yard pond with ochre for soap, and then dried on a clay-bank.

Every time the enemy laid his plans to surprise Gen. Getty, and to
force the passage of the river. Gen. Getty had ready, at that very point,
batteries in position and troops in line ; surprised the surprisers, and sent
them speedily to the cover of their works. We have made strong lines
from three to five miles in length ; forts, redoubts, and rifle-parapets, with
all the appliances of covert way, ditch and abatis. For ten days Gen.
Longstreet invested our forces on three sides.

We think that next to Gen. Getty, Capt. Hazard Stevens, on Gen.
Getty's staff, has been the busiest man on our part of the line. His horse
always gallops. The boys say : " He does not know how to ride that
horse at a trot ; they look up and there goes Capt. Stevens, on an errand,
ten miles down the road ; a few minutes later he has returned, and is gal-
loping, on another errand, ten miles up the road ; and before there is
time to tell it, he is rattling over all the cross-roads in the neighbor-
hood — guess there 's going to be a fight."

April 23. Thurs. Rainy. A large detail of our stronger men
goes out on picket under Lieut. Forbush ; the balance of the Reg. rest-
ing. Troops are moving rapidly all about us. We are tired of seeing
moving troops — the monotonous tramp, the unchanging scene ; all troops
look alike, dusty blue in clothing, and dirty gray in blanket and tent, and
all heavily loaded. The boys say " There goes another old caravan," as
the bodies of troops pass cam}). However, our camp seems strangely
quiet, the quietest day and night we have seen since the siege commenced.
For two weeks we have lived in an indescribable hubbub and rush day
and night. We are still under orders to turn out every morning at three
o'clock, and to remain under arms until seven a. m., in line of battle on
the front street of camp.

April 24. Fri. Very rainy. Reg. in line in camp from 3 a. m.
to 5 a. m. A reconnaissance in force this morning. About 10,000 men,
including Corcoran's Irish Legion and the Connecticut Brigade, move
out on the Somerton road. The advance have some skirmishing, the 16th
Conn, having a sharp brush with the enemy's pickets. The Reg. falls in
a little after noon, stacks arms in the company streets, and returns to

1863 SIEGE OF SUFFOLK. 135

quarters out of the rain ; and is again called out in haste about dai'k as
a support for Corcoran's Legion, but is not engaged. The whole force
is recalled early in the night. To some extent the men enjoy the rush
of the charge, or the ordinary fighting, but thoroughly detest this bush-
whacking sort of skirmishing. They call it every sort of name, squirmish,
squeamish, skittish, schottische, etc. A detachment of the Thirteenth
is sent out to cut down trees and clear the range for our batteries ; are
ordered to finish the job, and work for nearly twenty-four hours at a
stretch. Lieut. Staniels writes in liis diary : " Reg. gets under arms at
1.15 p. m. AVe go over to the rear of Fort Dix at 4 p. m. Remain until
7.30 p. m., when we return to camp."

April 25. Sat. Pleasant. Reg. in camp resting. Heavy firing
is heard in the distance, rapid, noisy. Gen. Dix states that the enemy
clearly meditated crossing the Nansemond last night between Jericho
Creek and Ft. Connecticut. A large prayer-meeting is held this evening.
The largest we have ever known in camp.

Like skirmishing, reconnaissances in force are much disliked. A jerky
march, frequent halts, distant firing, spent bullets coming over, shells
hunting us out ; a quiet rest interrupted by a nervous, " Fall in — fall
in ! " ; two or three thousand men jumping hurriedly into line, throwing
their rolls of blankets over their shoulders, ordered — every ten minutes
— to see if their muskets are projierly loaded and capped ; and the whole
programme repeated over and over again aU the day through, and coup-
led with it all a strong belief that a rebel ' masked battery ' or an ambush
is just over yonder, 'the woods are full of them,' and an expectation
that the next moment will bring in an engagement. After a whole day's
work of this sort, a man is used up, disgusted and ugly ; and returns to
camp angry and indignant all through because there was not a fight.

April 26. Sun. Cold, fair, warm at noon. Reg. in camp near Suf-
folk. Inspection, Dress-parade and religious services — the first for
several weeks ; the Reg. listens formed in a square. The Band plays
many spirited pieces this morning at guard-mounting and inspection. Out
of the fighting for a few hours, all this is a pleasurable relief. The gun-
boats are quiet for the first day in two weeks. The most of the day
passes in rest — not so the night. About 9 p. m. the whole camjj is sud-
denly up and coming like a rush of hornets with a pole in their nest.
We are called out by Gen. Peck himself riding into camp like a whirl-
wind, and demanding that an hour's work be done in two minutes. He
is in a terrible hurry, and ' sassy,' and the men scramble into line speed-
ily and march off to the front on the Nansemond river bank, in the chilly
dai'kness, mad ; and then shovel all night.

The general plan of this campaign has been for Gen. Getty's Division
to occupy the Nansemond front from Suffolk down the river to where it
broadens into a bay, and also along the lower part of Jericho Creek ;
while Gen. Peck occupies the works encircling Suffolk. Fort Connecti-
cut was the first fort built and manned. A very scientific trestle, sug-

136 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

gested by Col.*Derrom of the 25th N. J., is used for nearly all the bridges
required in this campaign.

April 27. Mon. Fair. Thirteenth in rifle-pits at the front, along
the bank of the Nansemond. We have shoveled all night, until daylight,
when the enemy's pickets commence firing and stop the work ; then
we take breakfast ; after which those who can have cover work at the
shovels again until 9.30 a. m. ; then the 13th is relieved and marches
back a few miles to the old camp again, arriving about noon, and rests
for the balance of the day. It is this sort of jerky business that uses
men up. We have marched, and fired, and picketed, and shoveled, night
and day, in all sorts of weather, in water, in mud, in swamp and brush
and timber, up hill and down dale, in this sort of ' hare and hounds ' play
for nearly three weeks. Very little rest or peace, and no comfort, since
April 1st ; but it is one of those campaigns which furnish a great deal of
rough sport, play and adventure as well as much hard work.

Some men of the 13th on another part of the line, while on picket, ar-
range with the rebels not to fire, and swim across to a sandy point or an
island. Here they are met by men swimming out from the rebel picket,
and they have a very friendly meeting, shake hands, swap jack-knives
and pipes, have a chat, and then return to their several posts. Strict
orders are issued forbidding any more of such useless, dangerous and
dare-devil business.

The crookedness, windings, twists, netting, and general tortuousness, in
these Nansemond swamps — a part of the Dismal Swamp — of the paths
and roads around pool and bayou, boghole and creek (" krik ") form a
maze baffling the imagination. Sergt. John Pinkham of E, an old sailor,
declares : " I can never box the compass after marching all day here ; to
follow these roads would make a rat sea-sick."

April 28. Tues. Fair and showers. Pay-rolls being made up.
The writer (frequently serving as clerk of Co. E), Cyrus G. Drew, clerk
of B, and the clerks and Captains of two or three other companies, make
temporary desks in an old negro hut near Jericho Point, by driving sticks,
at a convenient height, into the log-chinks, and laying rough boards upon
them, and work together upon the rolls, for parts of two or three days.
Occasionally a rebel bullet whacks against the hut, knocking the dried
mud out of the chinks between the logs, and making sudden little wiggles
and crooks in the writing's ' lines of beauty ' ; while two or three of the
enemy's shells burst nearer to us than shells ought to do when a man is
busy writing his level best. Regimental Hdqrs. are near the old rebel
small-pox hospital. Several men of the 13th slept in it recently one rainy
night, not knowing its character, but did not contract the disease. They
call this " Ilarland's front." The 13th furnishes a picket for the Norfolk
road, also a heavy picket in the front trenches all day, and at 6 p. m. the
whole Regiment moves out and joins them. At dark the Reg. goes to
work upon a fort near the small-pox hospital. Gen. Longstreet, it is
said, has sent word to some citizens of Suffolk that he will dine with
them there to-morrow !

18G3 SIEGE OF SUFFOLK. 137

April 29. Wed. Warm, fair ; a heavy rain last nignt. The 13th
is nowadays called every day at 3 a. m., stacks arms in theM|gmpany
streets, and remains near quarters with accoutrements on. leady tor an in-
stant move, until 7 a. m. A large detail from the 13tli, under Captains
Stoodley and Buzzell, takes a turn on picket far out in the swamp on the
Jericho canal — a slough under foot and no shelter from the rain. Com-
pany E furnishes 33 poor, forloi-n, water-soaked, bedraggled fellows for
Capt. Stoodley's command. But the worst is at night. The several
picket details assemble at picket Hdqrs. about noon, and then return to
Jericho Point. They remain there until about sunset, when all return to
camp, and are just fairly at home when a storm commences, the like of
which we have never seen. The thunder is a regular roar for over an
hour, the skies are all ablaze with incessant and vivid lightning, there is
much heavy wind, the rain is in torrents and streams, spattering and
pouring through the tents as if they were sieves ; and the whole level
camp is a sheet of water glowing with the dancing lights in the skies. The
camp-guard wade their beats, splash, splash.

April 30. Thurs. Fair ; rained all last night. Reg. on picket in
the forenoon ; about noon returns to old camp near Suffolk. Mustered
for pay by Col. Donohoe of the 10th N. H. In the afternoon we remove
camp towards Jericho Point, to a clean and dry spot and therefore wel-
come, near the Nansemond and the small-pox hospital, and about two
miles below Suffolk. We move camp to this place in order to be near
our picket lines, and to save marching back and forth. Our old camp is
set on fire as we leave it, and makes a fine blaze. Nearly the whole Reg.
goes again and works nearly all night on Ft. Jericho — the same fort we
worked upon on the night of April 26th. First Sergeant Charles M.
Kittredge of B has been serving as ' Instructor of the guard ; ' a new
official jjosition in the Thirteenth. His duties, extending to the services
of both officers and men, are delicate and difficult ; but he j^erforms them
to the entire satisfaction of all the parties concerned.

The Nansemond is of an average width of less than 100 yards, a nar-
row, crooked, shoal, muddy stream, its banks an ever-varying marsh
and point and headland, all generally well wooded and supplied with
dense underbrush. The gunboats play a very important part in this siege ;
the ' Stepping Stones,' especially, with its dare-devil crew ; what these
men Avill hesitate to venture were best let alone. The gunboats are little
river steamers with their sides protected by sheet iron or bundles of hay.
Mounting one or two guns, and of light draft, they will sail ' on the dew
when the grass is wet,' almost, and have a wide sea in a common ci-eek.
They are exceeding noisy. In these woods and swamps one of their
cannon discharges in the dead silence of night — all as unexpected and
startling as a clap of thunder in a clear sky — booms, roars, reverberates
and jars for miles around, while in a few moments the sound of the burst-
ing shell strikes back like an angry echo.

The Confederate soldiers have no high regard for President Lincoln ;

138 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

to tliom lie m,iijs as the head of the forces suppressing their rebellion.

Then, i^ff they du not all appear to love Jeff. Davis.* One of them put it
natui;iTlyt(i-(I;iy, while exchanging trifles with our Regiment's pickets dur-
ing a meeting across the river. He said : " Say, Yank, you 'uns bring
Abe down heali to the river ; we 'uns will jjj'ing Jeff. ; then drown um both
'n go home — er'ekn." They call their scrip ' white-bellies ;' we call
ours ' green-backs ' — and not even the most patriotic Irishman could
express a more instinctive preference for the green than they do.

May 1. Fri. Pleasant. Reg. fits uj) its new camp, and packs all
sui'plus personal baggage to be sent home, or to be stored at Fortress
Monroe. Reg. supplied with new shelter tents, much needed. A large
detail hurried out to work on Ft. Jericho. On some parts of the line
now the pickets have mutually agreed not to fire ujion each other. The
rebels com{)lain that their rations now are, chiefly, flour, corn-meal and
bacon. All the wounded of the 13th are sent to the General Hospital
this forenoon ; they have excellent care here, and dread to leave.

May 2. Sat. Fair. A large detail, about 200 men, go to work on
a fort near the river. The 13th builds forts, other troops garrison them
as heavy artillery ; that is to say, many of them do the heavy standing
around, while we shovel up the earth to protect them. There has been
too much favoritism shown among the troops during this siege. Orders
are received for the 13th to march to-morrow, at 3 a. m., with two days'
cooked rations, and in light marching order. The enemy has fired upon
us more or less all the time while we have been building Ft. Jericho, and
several men have been hit. The fort was about a week in building and
was finished this afternoon. Very noisy about Suffolk to-day. Col. Cor-
coran is in charge in that direction, and when near the front, he always
manages to stir up a breeze. The Confederates say that they have eighty
Regiments in our vicinity — an infantry force of near 40,000 men.
Regimental Hospital and sick moved to new camp.

Some heavy artillery — infantry serving as such — in the fort here
nearest to our camp, were very recently trying to dislodge the enemy's
sharp-shooters from a brick house over across the river and what apjjcared
to be an old cellar near by it ; and could not succeed. Sergt. John F. Gibbs
of E and other Thirteens were looking on. After a while Gibbs salutes
the officer in command, desires to try a shot and is allowed to do so.
The ground beyond the river is an almost dead level. Gibbs has just
powder enough put into the gun to send the round shell fairly across the
river, cuts the fuse himself, sights the gun, and sends the shell rolling
over the smooth ground beyond the river. It rolls into the old cellar and
bursts there ; and a dozen or so of rebels scramble out, lively, and make
the best time on record to the brick house, while the burning brands of a
little fire they had in the cellar are flying about with the pieces of shell.
Now for the house. Gibbs tries again, with a heavier load of powder,
sends his shell ricocheting over there, where it lodges within the house
and bursts ; and there is another scattering of Confederates. After firing

1863 SIEGE OF SUFFOLK. 139

the two shots, and without saying a word, Gibbs turns^ sjilutes again,
and marches off, with the air of an actor leaving the stage.' S^

BATTLE OF PROVIDENCE CHURCH ROAD.

May 3. Sun. Pleasant as a whole, but very warm at mid-day. The
Thirteenth is in line at 5 a. m., and about 6 a. m. marches toward Suf-
folk, with Col. Stevens in command. Arriving in the city at 8 a. m., after
a march of about three miles, we halt on Main street near the Court
House, a few rods from the river, and remain here for an hour or two.
Here bullets coming over from the enemy's skirmishers fall among our
men in the street, or strike against the buildings, altogether too freely.
One bullet, seeming to come sti-aight down out of the sky, shaves close to
the faces of two men of Company E, and strikes upon the earth sidewalk
between their feet with a loud blow — unpleasantly interrupting their con-
versation. Many have similar experiences with the spent bullets, and a
few are hart by them. In the movement to-day the 103d N. Y. is the
first regiment to cross the Nansemond, then follow in order the 25th N. J.,
89th N. Y. and the 13th N. H. ; the 89th and 103d New York regiments
in advance of the whole force as skirmishers. At 9 a. m. the Thirteenth
moves down Main street, and soon (Luey writes at 9.30 a. m.) crosses
the river at the highway bridge (on canal boats moored and planked over),
inarching ' by fours ' — by the right flank — with arms at ' right shoulder-
shift,' and rapidly and rather jauntily. Company A leading, and is the
fourth regiment to cross, following the 89th N. Y. as a support — and
rather too closely. This is done under fire of the enemy's artiller}\ As
soon as we have crossed, and have moved up the bank, past the ruins of
Capt. Nathaniel Pruden's house, we swing into line of battle to the left,
across a field ; the right of the Reg., Co. A, resting on the west side of the
Providence Church road ; and continue to advance in this field, Co. A
keeping close upon the west — left — side of the road during all the day.

When the head of the Thirteenth arrived at the gullies near Capt.
Pruden's house, a few minutes after 9 a. m., Col. Stevens was called to
some other part of the Brigade, and Lt. Col. Bowers succeeded to the
command of our Regiment ; and continued in that command until about
two hours after the enemy's rifle-pits had been captured, when Col.
Stevens retux'ned.

As Ave come up on the high ground, we can see the skirmishing going
on for a long distance to the right and left, and the two long clouds of
powder-smoke i-olling up above the heads of the combatants. The line of
the enemy's rifle-pits appears to be between half a mile and a mile in
length along the edge of the woods, a few hundred yards north of us.
The firing is very spirited, and we receive an abundance of the spent
bullets. A few sneaking cowards are scared, and hide in the gully close
to the ruins of Capt. Pruden's house, and so shirk the battle. From the
time when we commence crossing the bridge, all through the day, the

140 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

enemy p]gy,^^.jBpon our lines with several light field-pieces mounted north
of us uMPthe road, and still farther west, but without much effect. Evi-
dently the enemy is seeking to hit the bridge, and the troops as we come
up on clear ground, and avoids throwing shells into the city. Our gun-
boats and batteries are constantly firing over our heads, all the forenoon,
with an incessant racket. Comi)any E is detached, and sent forward on
the left as skirmishers, and advances through an apple orchard, the trees
in full bloom. A part of the left wing of the Reg. also advances through
this orchard, which is about half a mile beyond the bridge we crossed.
Before the charge, however, Comj^any E is partly merged in the regi-
mental line of battle and with a portion of the 89th N. Y. The right
wing of the Reg. advances in open ground.

Lt. Col. Bowers has stated to the writer that he was '' particularly di-
rected by Gen. Getty to maintain a distance of 100 to 150 feet between
the 89th N. Y. and the Thirteenth ; but the men of the Thirteenth would
not keep back — they were determined to outcharge the 89th New York."
The 89th forming the advance, and the 13th as their support, constitute
the left wing of the advancing column ; the right wing of the column
coming up from under the pi'otection of the river bank, down stream, and
extending through the fields for half a mile or more, and all in full view
of our more elevated position. A force of dismounted cavalry lying on
the ground in a long straggling line, and armed with carbines, are clear-
ing the front of the enemy's skirmishers who are hidden among the weeds
and brush along the road, and we move towards the left among these
cavalrymen and to their rear. As the men of the 89th N. Y. take the
place of this line of dismounted cavalry, they rise up, shoulder their car-
bines and suddenly disappear, no one knows whither. Our men say they
sink into the ground. It may be, for a cavalryman is a most uncertain
and mysterious animal.

As the battle line of the 13th comes into clearer view of the enemy, he
aims direct for our line over the heads of our skirmishers, and the 13th
is ordered to lie down. Two regiments — the 103d N. Y. and 25th New
Jersey — now suddenly appear on the right about one fourth of a mile
distant from us, down stream, and move directly forward towards the
enemy in two splendid lines of battle. Their appearance provokes a
spiteful little fusillade, and draws the attention of the enemy's artillery
from us. They advance rapidly several rods, in straight battle lines,
while quite a number of them are seen to fall under the enemy's fire ; and
then both regiments drop out of view among the grass and weeds, and
the enemy opens again with renewed vigor upon us. As the enemy's
bullets, and an occasional shell, cut, rip and tear through the apple-trees,
we are showered with ai)})le blossoms, as if in a miniature snow storm
— pretty scene, but terribly suggestive bullets. One apple-tree is cut down
near us by a rebel shell. From where we now lie, the enemy's line, in
the edge of the woods, appears to be about 500 yards distant, and his
buUets sink very deep into the wood of the trunks of the trees about us.

1863 BATTLE OF PROVIDENCE CHURCH ROAD. 141

To our right is a ruined house (Norfleet's or Northwick's) — seems to
be of brick — about which a furious contest is waging, the enemy*,shelling
our lines there very severely. His entire range, however, is too high.
Our advance is made, all along the line, as such advances, in open ground,
are usually made, with " a lie down and fire, and a jumi) up and run for-
ward," repeated over and over again. During the whole advance Lt.
Col. Bowers is upon his feet, and continually moving, and keeps all the
time either with or in front of our Regiment's battle line.

It is perhaps 10 or 11 a. m. when the 89th reaches a rail fence on the
northern side of the orchard, and apparently 300 or 400 yards from the
enemy, posted in rifle-trenches and behind trees, in the edge of the wood.
From this rail fence a brisk fire is kept up with the enemy until the time
of the charge. It is a strong, high, zig-zag, ' Vii-ginia ' raU fence, made
of heavy rails, and affords much better shelter than the small apjile-trees
in the orchard or the little ridges of ground farther back ; and as a con-
sequence. Company E, many of the left wing of the 13th, and of the 89th,
are soon mingled together and lying down close behind this fence, in
some places as dense as three ranks deep ; and the enemy, pleased with
this larger target, splinters, clips, chips and batters these rails with hun-
dreds of bullets, not one in fifty of them having any other effect.

Company E of the loth, a Company of the 89th N. Y., and a few
other men, are in the northeast corner of this apple orchard and rail
fence, from which point a similar rail fence runs somewhat diagonally
down towards the woods, a fence which eventually divides the two wings
of the Thirteenth in our final charge. Captain Julian is soon ordered to
send a dozen rneu into the tall weeds along this diagonal fence. They
at once take their ground, under a brisk fire, and answer it in earnest.
The ground at this rail fence where we now are on the north side of the
orchard is a little higher than the rebel position in the woods, a clear
field, 300 to 400 yards in width, lying between us and them. The too-
inviting rail fence has brought this part of the line up nearer the enemy's
line than the right wing of the 13th, which is in more open ground, or
our troops farther down towards the right of the main line. This ne-
cessitates a delay of more than an hour at this fence.

At one o'clock — 1 p. m. — the order is passed : " Make ready to
charge." The little stir in our line brings upon us an increasing rebel
fire, from all along their line on our front. An officer — Capt. Hazard
Stevens, Adjt. Genei-al on Gen. Getty's staff — who has been seen riding
and bearing orders to all parts of the field during all the forenoon, and
who, after leaving his horse in a safer place, has come up to the line of
battle, and has been sitting near the writer, under protection of the fence,
for the past few minutes, closely watching the course of affairs, now sud-
denly rises, mounts the toj^ rail of the fence, steadies himself by a stake,
stands there bolt upright — despite the enemy's bullets — waves his hat,
and shouts : " Forward I " " Forward I " Another officer, said to be the
Lt. Colonel of the 89th N. Y., also mounts the fence. Several oflBcers

142 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1SC3

of the Thirteenth, and men also, are on the fence nearly as soon as they,
aU shouting at the full strength of their lungs. The right wing of the
Thirteenth is also springing up, some fixing bayonets and some not,
and all the while the enemy's bullets are coming among us thicker and
faster than ever, pounding against the rails of the fence, ripping through
the trees, knocking up the dust and earth — a bullet strikes hard — and
clipping, chipping, zipping among the dry grass and weeds — wliew !

In a moment more almost every man in the Thirteenth is in a wild
rush for the woods and the rebel rifle-pits and trenches within them, over
fence, ditch, brush and what not, some with bayonets fixed, some fixing
bayonets as they run, and all yelling like madmen. The enemy fires into
us two quite regular volleys, and follows with a brisk firing at will before
the charge is over, and a number of men in the Thirteenth are seen to
fall ; but the distance, 300 or 400 yards, mainly over the descending and
clear ground of a cornfield, is made as quickly as men can run, and just
as we enter the woods the enemy takes to his heels, leaving his dead
and a few of his wounded in our hands. A number of his men even leave
their ammunition and their cartridge-boxes — the latter hanging upon
the trees. (The writer still, 1887, has a few bullets taken from one of
these cartridge-boxes.) A few prisoners ai"e captured. Quite a number
of large pine-trees are standing in front of their rifle-pits, which are a
full rod and more within the edge of the timber. Laurel and pine brush
is set up thickly in the earth thrown up in fi-ont of their pits, quite effec-
tually masking them. The men of the Thirteenth, seeing the trees in front
of the rebels, were very desirous to run forward, out of the clear, open
ground, to get among these trees and thus have a fair, even chance with
the enemv- The charge from the rail fence, and from the position of the
right wing, to the woods, does not occupy more than two or three minutes,
and we run close upon the enemy in his masked rifle-jiits, before we
clearly see the enemy's advantage, and before he scrambles out and runs
for dear life deeper into the woods. They held their ground bravely and
nobly. In less than a minute more, they must all have been captured, or
else must have indulged in a little bayonet exercise — or both. At 1.15
p. m. the enemy is in full retreat, the rifle-pits in our hands.

The men of the 89th N. Y. necessarily scatter somewhat — in the rush,
and the men of the Thirteenth run among them, and ahead of them, in-
tending to out-charge them on this occasion. When the enemy's rifle-pits
and trenches are cleared, the Thirteenth is halted. Company E takes its
place in line of battle — having during the most of the forenoon preceded
the line of battle as skirmishers — and the 89th N. Y. is moved forward
again upon the skirmish line deeper into the woods.

The enemy is found very strongly entrenched, where we dislodged him,
along near the edge of the woods, in a line more than half a mile in
length, to the right and left of the road, and is driven out by our show
of numbers and bayonets alone. Musketry could not have driven him
from his pits with the dense and heavy timber around and behind him,

1863

BATTLE OF PROVIDENCE CHURCH ROAD. 143

and he could have lain with considerable safety under a heavy fire of ar-
tillery. The writer heard a rebel prisoner state that our Brigade, in this
charge, dislodged two strong rebel regiments backed by a field battery.
But it should be borne in mind, that these two rebel regiments were sta-
tioned as pickets and not in line of battle, a picket line in large squads a
rod or two apart, and though their force was strong, the Tliirteenth in
their hurried onset pierced and forced back a part of their line first,
flanking all the rest, which was compelled to follow, and did so. After a
little time, however, the rebels were rallied in the woods and turned upon
our advance, fighting it from tree to tree, and so were forced back by
the skirmishers of the 89th, after the 13th had been halted in the woods.
It was a very pretty little fight, and generally well managed on both sides.
The rebels ran only at the moment of inevitable capture.

While the Thirteenth is halted along a little brook in a ravine, about
two hours after the short chase into the woods, one of our batteries — a
section, as we are informed, of the steel gun battery commanded by Lieut.
Beecher, son of Rev. Henry Ward Beecher — comes up near the woods
to the right and rear of the Thirteenth, takes position in the field about
200 yards west of the road, and engages in a sharp duel with a rebel
battery entrenched a short distance back in the woods and also to the
west of the road. Col. Stevens rejoins the Thirteenth, in the woods, soon
after this artillery firing begins.

It was the Thirteenth almost alone, who in well closed column on the
run broke in the enemy's line, and therefore we lost moi-e heavily than
any other regiment. We outcliarged the 89th N. Y. deliberately and
purposely, and when we halted nine tenths of their men were in our rear,
and had to come up and pass through our lines, we parting to give them
room to do so, out again upon their skirmish line. Possibly if they had
known our intentions they might not have allowed themselves to be out-
run in this way. They criticised us at Fredericksburg and without occa-
sion— now we payback their unfair words with fair deeds. The two
regiments, however, are on quite friendly terms, the action of to-day a
bit of natural rivalry, and we desire in no way to disparage the 89th
N. Y., a very excellent regiment.

Just as the Thirteenth entered the woods, an officer of the 89th N. Y.
steppetl up behind Capt. Betton and called out, " Hello, Captain ; I was
just behind you in the charge at Fredericksburg." *' So you are now ! "
replied Capt. Betton, as he hurried forward ; and there the colloquy
ended.

Lieut. Beecher's battery exchanges rapid shots with the rebel battery in
the dense timber and supported by a strong body of infantry, all of which
our charge has unmasked. The firing continues until dark, many of the
shells, from both friend and enemy, going over our heads, cutting up the
trees, treating us to the falling branches, and occasionally bursting near
and giving us little rattling showers of the pieces and small shot. The
enemy has a few guns of large calibre, and from these come, level, straight

144 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

through the foliage of the trees, large charges of singing, purring and
tree-cliiJi)ing grape shot ; grape makes the most disagreeable noise of
any missile used in this war. None of it, however, unless spent, can enter
the ravine where we now are.

While the Thirteenth is lying in the ravine along the brook, about two
hours after the charge, we are in full view of some of tlie enemy's sharp-
shooters — evidently posted in trees. Their buUets, coming from a point
to our left and rear, as we have advanced beyond the general line, re-
peatedly strike a pine-tree on a high bank near by, and also strike the
ground about us. Just after one of these bullets has torn a piece of bark
otf the side of this tree, and hurled it against the head of a man of the
Reg. (we think of Co. F), knocking him down, Capt. Buzzell goes up to
the tree to find, if he can, the whereabouts of the sharp-shooters. He is
too venturesome — there never appeared any fibre of timidity in him —
and he does not secure a sufficient cover behind the tree. He has scarcely
watched a minute, when he guddenl}^ cries out loudly, " Oh — I "m killed ! "
takes a step or two, and instantly falls forward upon his face, dead.
At the same moment a sjient bullet buzzes close over the heads of First
Sergeant Thompson (the writer) and Sei-geant Yan Duzee, and a few
other men of Co. E, who are sitting on a log down near the brook, and
drops into the muddy water at their feet. From the time and the direc-
tion of its coming, and its spent condition, it is reasonably believed to be
the same bullet that passed through Capt. Buzzell ; a long search is there-
fore made for it in the deep, soft mud of the brook, but it is not to be
found. The bullet passed straight through his body, and through his
heart. When shot Capt. Buzzell is standing near a large pine-tree about
twenty feet from the brook, and perhaps ten feet above it ; and his death
falls upon the Regiment like a cold-blooded murder committed in their
midst, and not as a stroke of war.

All our men are soon removed from this dangerous locality. No far-
ther advance into the woods is made, and at dark the Reg. retires, with
the rest of the force engaged, to the camp near Jericho Creek, carrying
back its dead and wounded ; arriving there at 10 p. m., and turning in
about midnight The most of the officers and men are pretty well tired
out by this long, hard day's work. Lieut. Curtis has command of the
rear-guard as the Reg. retires from the field to camp.

The 89th N. Y. supported by the lath N. H. formed the left Aving of
the advance ; the 103d N. Y. supported by the 25th N. J. the right wing,
the Providence Church road dividing the two wings. The 11th. 1 5th and
16th Conn, regiments were also engaged farther to the right, while a
heavy supi)orting column moved near the advance. The infantry was
accompanied by a small body of cavalry and a field battery ; the whole
force about 7,000 men. Acting in concert with our force, a body of TInion
troops crossed the river farther down, at " Sleejiy Hole," or Cbuckatuck,
engaged in a skirmish with Gen. Longstreet's rear-guard, and captured a
batch of prisoners. The general movement is made to hasten the raising

1863 BATTLE OF PROVIDENCE CHURCH ROAD. 145

of the Siege of Suffolk, already begun by Gen. Longstreet — a reconnais-
sance in force. While we inarch off in one direction to-night, the enemy
calculating that our advance of to-day threatens him with a more persist-
ent i)nrsuit on the morrow, packs and marches off hastily in the other
direction.

The advance and charge of the Thirteenth to-day is considered excep-
tionally brilliant for its dash and steadiness, even though the Reg. was
formed somewhat irregularly, in a hurried movement, as the final assault
was made — our first bayonet charge on an enemy in view. The honors
due to all of its Companies are quite even all along the line. Veterans
say that the charge of the Thirteenth, made to-day, was the best one
they ever witnessed ; and worthy of special commendation because it was
impossible to tell whether the enemy's force was one tliousand or five
thousand. Besides, after capturing the enemy's line of rifle-trenches, and
when lying in the woods, the Reg. holds its place steadily between our
own battery and that of the enemy, during their long and sharj) engage-
ment, though we were meanwhile exposed to the fire of the enemy's sharp-
shooters, and stray shells from our own gunboats, all four being about
equally dangerous. We were advanced during all the day, beyond the
right of our main line of battle, and had much waiting to do, under fire,
while the rest of the line was brought forward. The 13th are withdrawn
about 8 p. m., and at once return to camp. On the whole the day is one
of which the Thirteenth may well be proud. A slow, old-fashioned, regu-
lar army charge would have lost us two or three men for every one lost
in to-day's most hasty rush. Nine tenths of the Thirteenth made the charge
upon the run, as if in a race, their guns held in the right hand, as they
would hold a heavy stick by the middle of it when running. Upon the
wild racing of our men aci-oss the field, the skedaddling of the enemy in
the woods was something to laugh at.

A soldier of the 13th writes home : " We crossed the river about 9
a. m., and deployed in line of battle, fronting the wood. In the charge the
89th N. Y. moved rather slowly, and the left wing of the 13th shot by
them, and their Lt. Colonel, being in command, ordered the 13th to ' for-
ward,' and let his men stay there if they would ; and the 13th did go for-
ward, making the Johnnies take F'rench leave — some of them leaving
their guns and everything else in our possession. We were ordered back
about dark, and returned to camp."

The losses of the day in the Thirteenth were about thirty — of killed
three and of seriously wounded sixteen. The Reg. went in with less than
500 men. The largest number were hit during the charge. Lieut.
Murray was severely wounded, and Capt. Stoodley slightly. Hundreds of
men went into the charge wearing button-hole bouquets of apple blossoms,
from the orchard ; many of them cut off by the bullets which were ripping
through the trees overhead all the time that our men were among them.
Quite a natural thing for a man to pick up a twig, covered with fresh
blossoms and cut off by a bullet within a few feet, or a few inches, of his

146 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

head. A number of the enemy's shells tore through the trees also, cut-
ting off large limbs. From both causes the petals and blossoms were
showering down among us for several hours. An apple blossom would
not be a bad emblem, or badge, for the men of the Thirteenth, but most
appropriate. The writer, and several other men, had their feet and hands
badly jarred by bullets hitting the rails of the fence, when they were upon
them in the act of climbing over, but are otherwise unhui't. Lieut. Curtis
of C, in coumiand of the Thirteenth's rear-guard in retiring, was ordered
back to hurry up some stragglers and narrowly escaped capture by passing
the left wing of the Thirteenth, the whole j^arty coming within an ace of
going to Libby.

During the charge a part of Co. C slackened their speed a little at the
fence which was encountered by the right wing of the Reg., near the edge
of the woods. At this First Sergeant McConney actually jumped up and
down with impatience, exclaiming: " Foi'ward, Company C — we'll all
get killed if we stop here ! " The slowing was but for a moment, and
was caused by the action of two or three men avIio first reached the fence,
and properly enough waited a moment for the rest of the company to come
up. During the action, instead of holding to proper supporting distance,
the Thirteenth improved the opportunity, given by the order to charge, to
burst through the line of the 89th N. Y., and make a hot race for the
fence at the edge of the woods, shouting : '• Beat them to the fence, boys,"
and were the first to reach the fence. This impulsive action is prompted
by accusations of timidity at Fredericksburg, where the 89th followed the
Thirteenth, and crowded upon them while their progress was for a mo-
ment hindered by the lying down and running back of some men of the
25th New Jersey. One man of the Thirteenth writes : " The men of the
89th N. Y. were in the front line till the charge, when the men of the
13th passed them at almost every point, and took the matter mostly into
their own hands." The members of the 89th call us the " Granite Thir-
teenth " — and seem to be glad that we did the work. Many of the 13th
charged without fixing bayonets, there being so much noise as to drown to
the orders. The affair on the whole is considered very brilliant, our
forces having encountered " a powerful rear-guard of the enemy, which
was posted in a position of immense strength," and routed them.

During the most dangerous part of the charge, when John H. Foye of
E fell, Albion J. Jenness of E stopped short beside him, gave him water,
cut off his belt, and unbuttoned his coat : and remained attending to his
wants, amid the i)attering, whistling bullets, as coolly and quietly as if be.
side a cot in the hospital. A very courageous act. During the charge,
also, a number of men along the regimental line, seeing the enemy firing
upon the advance, deliberately halted and fired one shot at them, then
joined again in the charge — a sort of independent skirmish line firing
over their comrades' heads. But the most of the Thirteenth fully realized
that the only way to secure an even chance with the rebels was to run
across the open field and into the woods where the rebels were, and so

1863 BATTLE OF PROVIDENCE CHURCH ROAD. 147

went for them with a rush. Much of the battle overran gardens. The
men never before showed such a fondness for flowers, and especially for
apple blossoms.

Col. Stevens advanced with the Tliirteenth to a point near the ruins of
Capt. Pruden's house just above tlie river bank ; and there Lt. Col. Bowers
took command of the 13th, haxang received orders, how to support the
89th N. Y., directly from Gen. Getty, Probably no one would be more
ready to correct the error made in the N. H. Adjt. General's Reports, Vol.
2, for 1865, page 326, lines 27, 28, and Vol. 2, for 1866, page 787, line
31, than Col. Stevens ; for neither the 13th N. H. nor the 89th N. Y.
were under command of Col. Stevens during the advance or charge, at
any time after the line passed the ruins of Capt. Pruden's house and into
the apple orchard near it, until after the capture of the rebel works.
Whatever Col. Stevens' duties may have been with the rest of the Brigade
— as it was said he was called away — the 89th N. Y. was i*i command of
its Lt. Colonel, and the 13th N. H. was in command of Lt. Col. Bowers,
who charged with the 13th upon the rebel rifle-pits, and was overheated
by his most energetic exertions on this occasion. Col. Stevens rejoined
the Thirteenth about two hours after it had captured the rebel rifle-pits,
and while it was halted in the woods.

" The left wing of the Tliirteenth charged from an orchard with the
89th N. Y. The 13th generally outran the 89th, reaching the woods
first ; all the time exposed to the fire of the enemy from their rifle-pits in
the edge of the woods. We fixed bayonets while charging. We ad-
vanced into the woods beyond the rest of the line and were halted. The
battery that came up in our rear, after we halted in the woods, played
over our heads for several hours. We were withdrawn after dark, and
arrived in camp about 10 p. m. Capt. Buzzell, when shot, exclaimed,
'Oh — I 'm killed ! ' Lt. Col. Bowers led the Thirteenth after we
passed the river bank." Lt. Col. Smith.

" The Thirteenth has received many compliments for its action to-
day ; and has gained a name for bravery which will last as long as any
one of its members shall live. Lt. Col. Bowers commanded the Thir-
teenth, and was forward with the men, when they charged."

Capt. Julian.

Lossing states that Gen. Longstreet's force has reached nearly 40,000
men, and that Gen. Getty's line of defense has been nearly eight miles in
length — aU held by his Division alone — running down the Nansemond
from Battery Onondaga, and sweeping around on Jericho Creek (which
forms a large marshy island near its junction with the Nansemond), cov-
ering Battery Jericho and Battery Halleck, on the creek farther up.

The most of the foregoing account was written before the writer's visit
to the battle-field in May, 1885. We marched up from our camp — two
miles below Suffolk on Jericho Creek — between the main Portsmouth
road and the Nansemond ; and entered the city by an old lane just south
of the Court House, and halted in Main st. near the Court House front.

148 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

The river for a little way near the bridge runs nearly due east, but a
few rods above the bridge — west — there is a bend sharply around to
the northwest between bluffs cut with numerous ravines. Main st. runs
down to the bridge nearly due north, and the road beyond continues in
nearly the same direction for about two miles from the city, and then
a branch runs northwest to Providence church. The field of the Regi-
ment's operations on May 3d lies on the west side of this road, and be-
tween the road and the northwest bend of the river — a large, irregular
V with the point at the bridge, and the wide part at the line of heavy
timber a mile north, the road forming the right hand line of the V. The
bank of the river, on the north side, is high and wide, and the road for
the first half a mile is quite near the river. As you cross the river and
go up the road, and immediately after you have mounted the bank, a deep
gully runs from the left side of the road down to the river. A rod or
two beyond tlie guUy are the ruins of Capt. Nathaniel Pruden's house ;
a little farther on is a similar gully, and just north of it is a new house
built since the war and now, 1885, owned by a Mr. Nelson. These were
the gullies into which sundry cowards crawled and liid, while the Regi-
ment advanced. Mrs. Nelson informed the writer that their house " was
built among the stumps of an old orchard." Here is the field of the
orchard through which the 89th N. Y. and 13th N. H. advanced ;
and the north side of this orchard — where the zig-zag rail fence stood —
is nearly three fourths of a mile from the bridge, and it is 300 to 400

DESCRIPTION OF PLAT.

A. Portsmouth Road — north branch to Jericho creek, south to white

marsh.

B. Camp of Thirteenth near Suffolk, one mile from town.

C. C. Railroads. D. Old lane on which we entered the town May 3d.

E, Court House. G. Nansemond River.

F. Main Street, Suffolk, branching two or three miles north of town,

west to Providence Church, east to Chuckatuck.
H. Ruins of Capt. Nathaniel Pruden's house, and gullies near by
wdiere a few men hid while the rest of the Thirteenth fought the
battle out.
I. Apple orchard ; with zig-zag rail fence, L, north of it, where the

Thirteenth formed line of battle for the charge.
M. Field across which the Thirteenth charged. The course of the ad-
vance and charge of the Thirteenth is indicated by the arrow.
N. N. Edge of dense woods, of heavy timber and thick brush, with rebel
rifle-pits ; the works captured by the Thirteenth.
P. Point near brook R where Capt. Buzzell was killed, about 200 to
300 yards west of the road. S. Main part of Suffolk.

T. T. Rebel camps, earth-works and batteries.

K. Mr. Northwick's brick house, about one half mile east of road.

PROVIDENCE CHURCH ROAD.

From a sketch made by the writer in May 1885.

1863

BATTLE OF PROVIDENCE CHURCH ROAD. 151

yards farther, northward, to where the edge of the woods was, across
the iield, beyond the rail fence. The 13th charged across this field to the
Confederate rifle-pits and trenches and into the woods, in all not far from
600 yards. The open field is now quite square, and about one fourth of
a mile on the road north and south, and about one third of a mile (strong)
east and west toward the bend of the river. The field inclines gently
northward to the woods. The whole advance of the 13th was about one
mile north beyond the river. The wide field containing Mr. Norfleet's, or
Northwick's, brick house, on the east side of the road, was the scene of
the advance of the 103d N. Y. and the 25th N. J. forming the right of
our Brigade.

Hospital Steward Royal B. Prescott writes, May 7, 1863 : " We left
camp at 7 a. m., May 3d, and formed, in Main St., Suffolk, a line con-
sisting of the 13th N. H., 89th and 103d N. Y., 25th N. J., 7th Mass.
Battery, Battery L 4th U. S. Regulars, and Dodge's Mounted Riflemen.
We crossed the bridge about 11 a. m., and the 13th Indiana, 144th N. Y.,
11th, 15th, and 16th Conn, remained near the bridge as a reserve. When
we came up the north bank of the river opposite the ruins of a house (Pru-
den's) the rebels opened upon us with a brisk musketry fire from a brush
fence, from the woods on our left, and from an open cornfield (in front)
where the enemy laid flat on their faces. The 89th N. Y. and 13th
N. H. charged through the cornfield to the woods.

" Surgeon Richardson selected a place for a field Hospital ; a fence was
torn dovpn to lay the wounded men upon ; lint, bandages, tourniquets,
and surgical instruments were prepared ; water brought and everything
arranged at hand. A Lieutenant from the 103d N. Y. was the first one
brought in, shot straight through his head. Next a man of the 89th
N. Y., then another of the 103d, then one of our own 13th boys shot through
the body — and so they came all day long. IVIen were cut, torn and
mutilated in every conceivable manner. The day was very hot and we
had all we could do until after dark. Captain Buzzell was shot dead,
through the heart. We recrossed the river about 10 p. m., and arrived
in camp about 11 p. m.^ A Major of a Michigan regiment having an
attack of delirium tremens shot Surgeon Smith of the 103d N. Y. through
the bowels. Colonel Ringgold, 103d N. Y., was shot and died. The
Chaplain of the 25th N. J. also shot. The 13th N. H. suffered greater loss
than any other regiment engaged, losing twenty-three — four killed and
nineteen wounded. The original order directed the 13th to leave camp
at 2 a. m. May 3d, the bridges being down caused delay." Prescott.

Among the first to bound over the rail fence on the north side of the
apple orchard, at the order to charge, was Major Storer, and he was also
one of the first to reach the rebel rifle-pits in the woods. He wore boots
made of alligator skin, and some of the men who did not know him, but
who were referring to his gallant conduct on this occasion, designated

^ The Hospital-corps followed the Reg., and this accounts for the differences in
hours given.

162 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

him as ' that high toned gentleman with his boots all marked over with
diamonds, squares, figures, and so on.' Major Storer was always elegant
and courtly in manner, and very careful in dress and appearance.

May 4. Mon. Fair, showers, warm. Reg. in camp near Jericho
Creek, tired, resting, counting noses, cleaning muskets and talking over
the incidents and hair-breadth escapes of yesterday. It comes out now
that the 89th N. Y. were expected to charge first and alone, ujjon the
enemy, and the Thirteenth were not to charge at all unless the 89th were
repulsed. The enemy develo})ed an unexpected strength, the 89th had
lost heavily, and when the time to charge came along, the enemy's volleys
told severely upon the 89th ; and the 13th rather hastily broke through
the 89th, and took the van. As a body the 13th actually got into the
woods first, running pell-mell over a number of men of the 89th while
they were lying upon the ground, and outrunning the most of that regi-
ment. A mixed affair surely. To-day the commander of the 89th said
to Col. Stevens : " You may well be proud of that Thirteenth New
Hampshire Regiment." One thing is sure : the Thirteenth was well
commanded by Lt. Col. Bowers yesterday ; it has a number of quick and
hot-headed line officers well provided in their companies with men of
their own mettle — and there is no such tiling as holding the bulk of
such a regiment back.

That is one picture ; here is another of a different sort : It appears
that five men of the Thirteenth sought reputation far in the rear during
the battle of yesterday sneaking in Capt. Pruden's gullies. Being proven
guilty, they are to-day mounted on barrels near camp and beside the
mam road. A board is tied to the back of each one, and they are made
to turn around every few minutes for four hours. It is pleasant most of
the day, and while these five gentlemen are having a holiday and quietly
airing themselves, sixteen prisoners — of the 4th Texas — are brought in.
The scene amuses the prisoners greatly, and they halt, and laugh and
shout at the show like a parcel of school-boys. The boards tied upon the
backs of our special exhibition are marked respectively : ' I shirked.'
' I skedaddled.' ' So did I.' ' I did too.' ' DittO.' These are not of
New England — that much of disgrace is spared the line of the Thir-
teenth. But the day gave to us the surprise, and the stinging pain, that
we have cowards among us. In the train of cowardice parades every
known infamy : to cut it all short : crafty, overbearing, wordy, arbitrary,
rascally, deceitful, selfish — spells cowards every time.

The enemy retreated hastily last night, in the intense darkness, from
our front along the Nansemond ; our troops gave chase and captured a
large number of prisoners, and they are coming in to-day. AVe receive
orders to march to the front again, but they are soon countermanded.

The more this siege of Suffolk is studied the more remarkable it ap-
pears. The conduct of the Union troops engaged in it has been worthy
of the highest praise. Gen. Peck had scarcely 9,000 men all told in the
line of works encircling Suffolk, and Gen. Longstreet planned to surprise

1863 SIEGE OF SUFFOLK. 153

him, and cut him off by crossing the Nansemond farther down, and then
turning to fall ujion Portsmouth, Norfolk and the country adjacent. His
plans were carefully laid, his force was fully 40,000 men, and with these
he swept down like a storm, and spread his forces along for miles upon
the north bank of the Nansemond river. Gen. Getty, however, when
Gen. Long-street fii'st began to threaten, was called up from Newport
News with a flying column of about 8,000 men, and placed as the right
of Gen. Peck's line, along the Nansemond between Jericho Creek — Fort
New York — and the bluffs opposite Ft. Huger at Hill's Point ; below
Hill's Point the river widens into a bay, and is too wide to be crossed
safely on pontons while under fire.

Gen. Longstreet planned to cross at several places between Hill's Point
and Suffolk, on several days, and at different times in both day and
night ; but whenever he approached the river for that purjjose he found
himself confronted at short range by an earth-work fully armed with can-
non, and heavily manned by Union riflemen, all ready and waiting to re-
ceive him. AVithin three days — after the arrival of Gen. Getty's troops
— all along these rough, swampy, creeky, timbered, bluffy eight miles of
river bank strong forts and rifle-trenches grew up, under the sturdy work
of the Union soldiers, as it were by magic ; and after that continued to
grow higher and stronger, until, as Gen. Getty puts it, ' the works were
astounding for magnitude.' Fort Connecticut was the first fort, of any
considerable size, that was built. The many creeks and swamps demanded
bridges, and Col. Derrom of the 25th N. J. devised a peculiar trestle, that
was most convenient, and was adopted for use during the siege ; Gen.
Getty speaks of it in the liighest terms, as well as of Col. Den-om its in-
ventor. The investment continued from April 11th to the night of May
3d, when Gen. Longstreet, baffled at evei*y point, withdrew and raised
the siege ; his retreat, says Gen. Dix, commencing about 9.30 p. m. on
the evening of May 3d. Gen. Dix adds that the rebel line of works, ten
miles in extent, were immensely strong.

May 5. Tues. Sunshine and showers. Reg. in camp, nothing doing
except a Dress-parade. Many men, and several officers, of the Thirteenth,
among them Lt. Col. Bowers and Capt. Julian, are suffering from severe
sickness caused by the excitement, hard work and heat of May 3d, and
from remaining inactive in the damp, chilly woods just after being much
heated by the charge. Reg. furnishes a small detail for picket duty, and
another detail for labor on a fort near camp. Lieut. Forbush of G
assigned to the command of Company F, vice Capt. Buzzell. The camp
resounds from end to end with the muffled drum, the fife and the dirge,
in the burial of the dead.

Gen. John A. Peck estimates the enemy's losses during this siege at
2,000 men ; and the Union losses at nuich less. Gen. Peck and Gen.
Getty together have had about 16,000 or 17,000 men here, and several
gunboats, and our lines at all times have been very much extended.

" May 5th. We buried Capt. Buzzell in the woods to-night with only

154 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

the light of a lantern to see by. A storm is coming up and it is very
dark.'' Pkescott.

May 6. "Wed. Rainy. Reg. in camp. A large detail goes to work
upon a fort near by. The pressure of the siege made one or two of the
officers of the 13th unduly nervous. One of these on a certain night,
when there was not the least danger, was suddenly waked by a man who
wished to learn the countersign. The officer sprang to his feet, revolver
in hand, exclaiming: "Where! Where! Which way? Which way?"
and it was a minute or two before he could be brought to his senses. The
watch of the siege was heavy on his mind, and his body tired out.

May 7. Thurs. Cold, clear. Reg. in camp. Capt. Smith and
Lieut. Staniels with detail go on picket along the river bank. The pickets
lodge under some dense pine-trees. It is surprising what a good tent is
provided by a scrub pine. Clear away a few of the lower limbs, crawl
well under, and make your pillow close to the trunk, your bed of the dry
needles — ' pine tags ' in pure Virginia lingo — and sleep in the soj)orific
abounding fragrance of the wholesome pine.

A pretty story now comes out in relation to our scouts in the siege.
A small body of them penetrated deep into the Dismal Swamp and lost
their way. While stumbling about in the thick brush vainly looking for the
trail, they were accosted by a similar body of Confederate scouts, in a
very similar predicament, who asked where they were going. The Union
men replied that they were trying to find the way out of this — very big
D — swamp. The Confederates at once answered : " If you 'uns will show

DESCRIPTION^ OF MAP.

A. Nansemond River, having an average width of less than 100 yards.

B. Dismal Swamp Canal.

C. Fort Halleck on the edge of the swamp, which stretches south.

D. Petersburg R. R. E. Seaboard and Roanoke R. R.
F. Suffolk. G. Norfleet or Northwick.
H. Battle-field of May 3, 1863, on Providence Church road N.
Z. Confederate line of rifle-pits and trenches captured that day.
K. Jericho Creek forming an island near the river.

L. Portsmouth Road. P. Coplin. R. Council.

M. Hill's Point, Ft. Huger, where the Nansemond widens into a bay.

S. Fort Jericho. T. Ft. New York (or Onondaga).

Gen. Getty's Division held the line from opposite Fort New York
(Union) to opposite Ft. Huger (Confed.) at Hill's Point, a distance of
nearly eight miles. The 13th moved April 30th from camp near Suffolk,
on the Portsmouth road, to near the point where the S. & R. R. R. crosses
Jericho Creek at Ft. Jericho ; on which fort (now standing) the 13th did
a great deal of work. All the earth-works south of the Nansemond arc
Union ; all north of it are Confederate ; and all the forts on each line are
closely connected by deep and strong rifle-trenches.

SUFFOLK.

Tracing of Official Map. Scale, one and one half inches to one mile.

1863

SIEGE OF SUFFOLK. 157

we 'uns out, we 'uns will show you 'uns out." The result was a very
friendly meeting, an exchange of souvenirs ; and a mutual escape from
the swamp to their respective commands.

May 8. Fri. Warm, showery. Reg. on picket from Jericho Creek
to Battery Kimball. The enemy has gone — that is he no longer threat-
ens, and the siege of Suffolk is ended. The enemy pressed very close for
twenty-three days, keeping us working day and night, and then suddenly
withdrew. Powder enough has been burned to blow all Suffolk a dozen
miles over into the Dismal Swamp. Near about us now are one brigade
and two batteries. The I'est of the troops, that came up to this point to
re-enforce us, have gone ; hundreds only remain where thousands were.
A part of tlie camp of the 13th is now in a small orchard sweet with a
burden of blossoms. There is much cheering to-day all along our lines.

May 9. Sat. Fair. Reg. in camiJ. More surplus baggage and
winter clothing is sent to Fortress Monroe and home. The Reg. hard at
work by details, cutting down trees beyond the river, building earth-works,
etc. The rebel earth-works, across the river, are being dismantled, and
the river bank cleared of trees. The work has been going on since May
3d. Our picket line is now about three fourths of a mile from camp, and
on the river bank ; Union outposts and scouts are numerous beyond the
river. Asst. Surgeon Small examines the sick of the 13th at Surgeon's
call for the first time.

May 10. Sun. Fair. The body of Capt. Buzzell has been em-
balmed, and is to-day sent out of camp on its way to his old home in New
Hampshire. He was a brave man — too brave, and is mourned by every
member of the Regiment. Our Band played for the procession while it
marched to the railroad station, about three miles from our camp. It
costs about $125 to embalm, coffin and transport a soldier's body to New
Hampshire.

May 11. Mon. Fair ; a few showers. Reg. at work on a new fort
near camp ; the non-commissioned staff ordered out with the fatigue par-
ties. The writer and the two Van Duzees of E are desiring greatly to
take a view of the rebel camp : and ' become separated ' — rather too will-
ingly — from a large axe-party sent across the river under Capt. Stoodley.
We dejiosit our three axes in a hollow tree, intending to recover them
later on, and return with the other choppers to camp but do not succeed
in doing so ; alas ! what became of those three axes ? We are soon off,
and make a long tour of the rebel camp, and visit the battle-field of May
3d. We find, where the 13th charged into the woods on that day, two
bodies of the rebel dead, and we try to bury them with a couple of old
shovels the enemy left near there, but the condition of the bodies is such
that we have to desist. The enemy left a large number of his dead un-
buried. We find the place where Foye of E was killed, and gather as
a memento a few leaves of a plant growing on the very spot where his
blood was shed, and send them to his family.

The rebel camp is a curiosity ; nothing like it under the sun in these

158 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 18G3

last two thousand years. An immense collection of ' dug-outs ' — holes
made in the banks of earth and covered with poles and brush — small
log huts, board shanties, lodges made by lopping the branches of a pine-
tree and then piling on still other branches ; and every conceivable con-
trivance that can be made of poles, weeds, hay, straw and brush, all low,
dirty, damp and bids for cliills and rheumatism ; but only a few places
can be found where tents have stood. The Union army would mutiny
to a man in three days, if subjected to such straits. The enemy's earth-
works and trenches are immense. We see where a shell from one of
our gunboats had lodged in a large hut, had burst and torn some men
into hundreds of pieces, shreds, and scattered them aU about — horrible.

After tramping all day — dinnerless — until past mid-afternoon, we
get lost in the woods, are followed, as we discover, and are very nearly
captured by the enemy's scouts. We start upon the run down toward the
river in hopes of reaching the vicinity of a gunboat, and finally reach a
point on the river, north side, after dusk, at about three miles below
where we crossed in the morning. We see some Union pickets across
the river and hail them. They demand our number, and we answer,
" Three." Our pickets reply that there are seven ; and sure enough on
the high bank a few rods behind us are gray-clad men — rebel scouts. We
insist that there are but three of our partj^, and shout to our pickets to
" Shoot the rest." This remark saves us, and our pickets send over an
armed guard in a large boat to bring us across the river. We institute a
hunt for the rebel scouts, but nothing but their tracks can be found. We
had previously seen that they were armed with navy revolvers. We were
entirely unarmed. They had desisted from firing probably because they
thought they could run us down, and effect our capture.

When across the river, to escape arrest, as a ruse we pretend to have
returned from a scouting expedition, and ask for a guide, instanter, to
show us the way to the General's Headquarters. The guard send a Cor-
poral with his gun. At a convenient point, after we have reached familar
ground, we suddenly take to our heels through the low brush — like
three genuine scouts ! — and leave the Corporal to look on, and whistle,
while we run. The last we see of him, he is leaning on his gun, and
looking after us — probably expressing his feelings. We arrive in camp
just in time for the last Roll-call at night. We report to Col. Stevens,
own up, and tell him the story. He excuses us, but says : " This must not
occur again." Well, we do not believe it will ; we have enough. But Cajit,
Stoodley is not so easily satisfied. Two other men have left their axes
also. And the loss of axes is not so easily managed as the absence of men,
and loss of labor. However, the affair is the cause of no further trouble.

May 12. Tues. Fair and warm. There is now much talk in camp
about our being ' nine-months men.' Some are even trying to decide
whether they will re-enlist or not. Much shoveling at the fort near
camp ; a fort that has half a dozen names — of which the most prominent
is " Fort Jericho " — and looks across the river northward. There is

1863

SIEGE OF SUFFOLK. 159

such a demand for men to work that the pickets are not relieved for
three days.

May 13. Wed. Warm. Every man on duty, who can work. The
enemy expected to return upon our front. K-eg* at work on the fort.
Assembles and has a Dress-parade after its hard day's work. Have
orders to prepare to move. The 13th Band serenades Lt. Col. Bowers
to-night.

George W. Long of E, a character in the Reg. usually known as " Pud
Long," visits Suffolk with the writer, who is sent up there on an errand.
Long purchases a quart of molasses, of which he is excessively fond, and
carries it in a large open-mouthed glass pickle-bottle. While returning
to camp through the woods, by the shortest path. Long discovers a very-
plump and nearly naked negro girl, perhaps eighteen years old, washing
a white garment — possibly her last and only — near a little cabin in the
brush, as pretty a brown statuette as her race affords, and wholly uncon-
ventional. Long creeps noiselessly up behind her as she bends over the tub,
and suddenly pours about a pint of the molasses on the top of her head.
When she turned and looked at him, with a most startled expression on
her face, her eyes rolled up, and herself frightened half to death, the mo-
lasses running down over her neck and shoulders, in streaks lighter than
her skin ; the whole scene were well worth a painting. She screams :
" 0 bress de Lord — what hab I done ? " and rushes into the cabin yell-
ing" loud enough to be heard a mile. We hurry from the scene. But
Long has only one idea — "I 've sweetened one nigger anyhow," he re-
peats again and again.

May 14. Thurs. Very warm — hot ; — showers in the afternoon*
We break camp about 9 a. m., and move to the railroad and halt there
for a short time, then march down on the Seaboard and Roanoke Rail-
road about seven miles towards Portsmouth, then halt again ; then move
about two miles, and encamp in shelter tents at 4.30 p. m., in thick woods
at Bowers Hill. While on the railroad to-day, during a short halt, the
men lying down upon the grass and weeds under the shade of trees, the
whole Brigade still and quiet ; suddenly a long, rattling clap of thunder
breaks from a clear sky, sounding so much like an irregular volley of
musketry that the entire command instinctively springs to ai'ms. There
soon follows a heavy shower of rain thoroughly wetting everybody. Such
phenomena are said to be quite common here in the Dismal Swamp. The
railroad is lined with a thick forest, covered with a tangled matting of
brambles and wild vines exceeding dense. The writer usually keeps a
considerable number of postage stamps about him^ as a supply for the
men of his company, and this shower uses up the most of a recent pur-
chase of two dollars' worth. The pickets sent out are unable in many-
cases to reach their designated posts, because of the water, the mud, and
the almost impenetrable jungle of the swamp.

May 15. Fri. Pleasant. Reg. fitting up camp at Bowers Hill —
but there is here neither hill nor Bowers. The nearest approach to a

160 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

hill is a half-built fort, and on a knoll near by a huge Scuppevnong grape
vine giving large 2)romise. Not far away is a large swamp and ex-
tremely muddy ; the origin of * Goose Creek,' the head of Western
Branch. Close to our camp is a large spring furnishing the best water
we have yet found in Virginia. Two flour barrels are sunk near each
other to prevent the sides of the spring from caving in. One of our men,
not knowing that the heads of the barrels are out, is advised, and at once
attempts, to dip one of them dry. After dipping out thirty-two pailfuls
— sixty or eighty gallons out of a thirty gallon barrel — he gets warm
enough to think himself the victim of a practical joke, quits and goes to
his quarters.

May 16. Sat. Warm. Reg. all at work during the whole forenoon
on the entrenchments under direction of Col. Dutton of the 21st Conn,
who has command of the troops at this point ; resting in the afternoon.

IV.

May 17, 1863 to April 18, 1864.

CAMP BOWERS, OR 'THE PINES.'

May 17. Sun. Pleasant, warm. While on regimental inspection at
Bowers Hill camp about 10 a. m. to-day, orders arrive for us to move ;
and we march at 12.40 p. m., arriving in this pine grove, which is to be
our permanent camp-ground, at 4 p. m. — distance four miles. Col. Cor-
coran's Irish Legion remains at the front. The army is moved about too
much on Sundays.

May 18. Mon. Very warm. Reg. at work on our new camp in the
forenoon, and on a fort near by in the afternoon ; a fort afterwards called
Fort Rodman. While on the wing in these last two months, the Reg. has
set at work at once on the entrenchments nearest the point where it has
happened to light for a few hours. The Thirteenth is the first to break
ground here on this new line of earth-works. The 4th R. I. is encamped
a short distance to the west of us near Ft. Rodman ; details from both
regiments are working together ' corduroying ' the main road to Ports-
mouth. The growing cotton on a small field just west of our camp is very
soon among the things that were. Our camp here is called Camp Bowers
in honor of our loved and esteemed Lt. Col. George Bowers.

Getty's Station — Camp Bowers — The Pines. This camp is between
three and four miles from Portsmouth, near a very important point where
the railroad and three highroads meet. The course of the Seaboard &
Roanoke Railroad where it passes the site of our camp — on the south
side — runs a little south of west towards Suffolk. The Portsmouth and
Suffolk carriage road runs, parallel with the railroad, on the north side of
the camp. Thus the camp is crowded in between the two roads, on a
strip of low, level land 750 feet wide — measured. The quarters of the
field and staff, and of the line officers, are west fronting east ; and the
company quarters east. The company streets, running east and west, are
parallel with the railroad. The site of Col. Steere's Hdqrs. was pointed
out to the writer as between the two roads, and 50 yards east of the lower
platform of the present Getty's Station ; the quarters of the Thirteenth
as commencing about 100 yards farther east. The old Quay road, so
called, crosses the railroad, from the southward to the Suffolk carriage
road, a little west of our camp.

It is on the whole very difficult to locate the exact site of this old camp.
Now, 1885, every tree is gone, and the whole region round about is a
cultivated field ; scarcely one old landmark is left — even the old Quay

162 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

road has moved west. Ft. Rodman is located whei'e the Suffolk carriage
road and the raih'oad come very near together, ahove Getty's Station, and
about half a mile west of the camp. See August 20, 1863. The corner
below this camp, and the negro camp, about one mile from Portsmouth,
where the Suffolk road turns south and crosses the railroad, is called
Hall's Corner. Now, 1885, nearly the whole area of all our slashing,
and from our old stockade and line of rifle-trenches flanking Fort Rod-
man, down to Portsmouth, is a vast ' truck ' garden, four to six miles
square. In 1863 two thirds of this area was forest ; the soldiers of the
Thirteenth, you perceive, helped to clear this land for cultivation ! See
June 6, 18, and July 28, 1863.

May 19. Tues. Very warm, uncomfortable, frequent showers. Reg.
at work on the entrenchments, which run from the Eastern to the West-
ern Branch of the Elizabeth river — a line about six miles long, all under
command of Gen. Geo. W. Getty. He now has here ten regiments of in-
fantry, about 5,000 effective men, with a gunboat in the Branch on each
flank ; and that small force can hold this short line more easily than three
times that number of men could hold the old long line near Suffolk.
Hence this new position. Lieut. Kittredge, promoted from First Sergeant
of B, receives his commission, and is congratulated. His company makes
him a present of an elegant sword.

The following incident did not occur in the Thirteenth, but deserves
record. A certain colonel in the Union army was very much annoyed by
the incorrigible character of one of his men. He had tried in every way
he could by persuasion, argument and punishment to bring -the fellow to
a sense of his duty, but all in vain. Finally in desj^air, and in disgust at
some new caper, he called the man to him, and asked him what he him-
self thought should be done with him. The man at once replied : " Well,
Colonel, since you ask my opinion, I will give it. Better let me alone to
do as I please. You cannot expect to get the cardinal virtues for eleven
dollars a month." The man was let alone, thrown upon his honor — what
little he had — and gradually reformed himself, and became a good and
trusty soldier.

May 20. "Wed. Very warm. Reg. at work on the entrenchments.
" The boys hallooed for bread when they came in from work." (Luey.)
The men have A tents, which are to be raised on poles in the same man-
ner as at Suffolk. See April 8, 1863. At night now, unless rainy, the
tents are all thrown wide open. Our camp here is on the site of an old
rebel encampment, a part of it occupied by the 2d Louisiana. The
' Louisiana Tigers,' and ' Wild Cats,' and ' Wharf Rats,' were here also ;
and when they departed in May of last year, they left an amount of filth
amply befitting their names. Norfolk was occupied by Maj. Gen. John
Wool on May 10, 1862. The water near camp is abominable, and much
that the men use is brought from the swamp, a mile distant ; a reddish
decoction of cyi)ress and gum-tree, but proves to be wholesome for drink-
ing and cooking.

1863 CA^IP BOWERS. 163

May 21. Thurs. Hot. Reg. at work on the fort for four and a
half hours in the afternoon. Capt. Julian has heen sick since the battle
of May 3d, when he did work enough for two men. Last night the men
of the 13th got up a small bread riot. The affair threatened a consider-
able mischief. Some say it was sjjecially worked up to draw sundry non-
commissioned company officers into possible acts of violence or insubordi-
nation, and so spoil their chances for promotion. Others say it was a
genuine outburst of indignation on the part of the men, because of really
poor bread, and not enough even of that ; but there appears to be no pos-
sible way to reach the real cause of the affair.

May 22. Fri. Hot. Reg. at work on a fort just west of camp. A
fort with four names at least — ' No. 1,' ' Steere,' ' Gilmore,' and finally
' Rodman.' As a result of yesterday's demonstration bread is now hot,
when given out as rations, and much better than usual. Lieut. Staniels
appointed Judge Advocate of a regimental court martial.

May 23. Sat. Hot. Reg. at work on Ft. Rodman. In the ditch
of this fort, and about ten feet below the present level of the ground, are
a number of stumjjs of trees, in a long row, cut off at about the same
height — about two feet above the original soil. The trees were evidently
cut off with small axes, the marks still visible ; but at some prehistoric
period, when the level of the country was at least ten feet lower than now,
and before the plain was formed which now surrounds the Dismal Swamp.
Quite a curiosity, and older than the swamp in its present condition.

May 24. Sun. Exceedingly hot. We rest for one whole day, ex-
cepting the usual inspection, parade and religious services. INlany letters
written home. It is now generally said of the Thirteenth, that no regi-
ment of the force hereabout has done more, if as much, shoveling and
slashing. Men cannot make long days, however, in this heat. One detail
works from 5 to 11 a. m., another from 3 to 7.30 p. m.

May 26. Mon. Cooler. Detail at work upon the fort and road.
The order now is to arrange " uniform tents and bunks ; " the camp is to
be put on Dress-parade. Red-cedar boughs ai*e ' prescribed ' for beds,
as preventive of malaria. Large detail shoveling.

Many letters are written home for the soldiers who cannot write for
themselves. Generally the party interested desires the letter written,
' just as I would write it, you know,' and some of the req[uests are very
amusing. They mainly follow one order. First very affectionate words
to the wife, then the children are attended to, then items of business,
then connections of the family, then a joke or two for old Jake or Sally,
then a little final gush, with more or less in special terms, which must be
written word for word — because those words were agreed upon when
the soldier left home — and they will be fully understood at home, though
now worse than Greek to the writer.

May 26. Tues. Cool. Reg. at work on the fort in the afternoon.
A large detail at work on a corduroy road near Portsmouth, covering
the old roadway with logs laid cross-wise, and then covering them with

1G4 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

brush and earth. The army poets are busy. Numerous ' Poems ' have
been written, and several published ' onto ' the wounds and death of the
May 3d heroes who fell on the Providence Church road. Bad enough to
be shot without these poems. If all the soldiers fallen in this war should
at once arise from the dead, and stand exactly as and where they were
one second before the fatal stroke came upon them, the view would be
wonderful ; but still more striking would be their indignation and anger
because of the army poets who served them up so fearfully after they
were iionorably dead.

May 27. Wed. Warm. Reg. at work on Ft. Rodman and the
military road near it. The nights here usually remain very warm and
close till past midnight, before the breeze from the bay penetrates these
thick woods of the swamps that surround us. Brigade Hdqrs. are moved
down near the west end of the camp of the Thirteenth. Music, dancing,
a large assemblage, a fine illumination lighting up the pines and rivaling
the brilliant moonlight, and a general jubilee holds the camp late to-night
near the Hospital tents.

May 28. Thurs, Very warm. Reg. at work on the fort as usual.
A great deal of land near by is worked by the contrabands. They are
to have half of what they produce. They are coming within our lines in
large numbers, and bringing woful tales of their ill treatment by the
Confederates. The scenes on their arrival beggar description. INIany
of them are extremely pathetic, and would draw tears from the most
stolid and hard-hearted men, if the monkey-like actions of the negroes
were absent, and the negrotesquerie so far laid aside that the scenes
could be freely realized as part and parcel of the life and experiences of
human beings. You ask them how they feel now that they are free, and
they will answer : " 'I-golly, Massa, we 's feelin' pow'ful good ! "

May 29. Fri. Very warm. Reg. breaks ground for a new fort
near the Western Branch. The walls are to be fifteen feet thick at
parapet, twenty-one at base, about ten high. A house is enclosed but
afterwards torn down — said to belong to a Mr. Wilson, a Colonel in the
Confederate Army, and a member of the C. S. A. Congress. This work
is to be hurried both day and night until the fort can be used. The men
work in six-hour reliefs. Green peas, costing ten cents a quart shelled
ready to cook, are abundant. The negroes bring to camp great quantities
of strawberries. Cattle are driven here in large droves, turned to pas-
ture, and killed as they are needed. We have excellent fresh beef in
plenty. Lieut. Parker has resigned his commission. His health very
poor. (He leaves camp on May 31st.) He is popular in the Regiment,
and will be greatly missed ; the leave-taking a sad one. The loss of so
many officers because of sickness casts a gloom over the whole command.
The first case of small-pox occurs in camp to-day.

May 30. Sat. Very warm and dry. Reg. at work on the new
fort. The dust in the road is about six inches deep, and about one inch
deep now upon us. The men are making all sorts of odd tilings to use

1863 CAMP BOWERS. 165

and to send home, bone rings, briar-root pipes, cane-brake fifes, buzzard-
quill pens, and necklaces of bears' teeth and claws obtained from the na-
tives about the swamp.

May 31. Sun. Warm. Great need of rain. Usual Sunday in-
spection and parade. The talk that lias been going on for nearly a month
about our being mustered out on June 19th has arisen because it is
claimed that the 12th N. H. filled New Hampshire's volunteer quota.
The talk is making many of the men very uneasy. With the excej^tion
of fresh beef, rations are very poor now again. The men have had to
work so very hard all this sjnnng, that the regular army rations, as served,
have not furnished sufficient nourishment ; provoking discontent, causing
sickness, encouraging secret foraging parties — and filling the sutler's
purse. Cavalry and infantry reserves, with a few light cannon, hold the
distant Suft'olk lines, Corcoran's Legion garrisons the Bowers Hill works,
while we run this new line across between the branches of the Elizabeth
river. The 9th N. Y. have gone home ; the 25th N. J. — nine-months
men — go home June 3d, their term of service having expired. The 10th
N. H. again a permanent part of our Brigade. The whole force here-
about is kept exceeding busy, building fortifications, leveling forests, build-
ing roads, etc. The citizens' children are wearing crape on their arms in
mourning for Stonewall Jackson ; and these future lords and ladies of the
South take especial care to exhibit to the Union soldiers such emblems of
rebel sentiment and feeling.

June 1. Mon. Warm, very. Reg. at work on the corduroy road
to Portsmouth ; commencing work at an early hour in the morning, and
continuing but half the day. The 10th N. H., having come down from
Bowers Hill, camjjs near us to-day. The ofiicers of the 13th hold a
meeting this evening, and subscribe liro.OO apiece to purchase an elegant
gold snuff-box for Lt. Col. Bowers. They desire to make up a purse, for
it, of $150. He must resign because of injuries in his shoulder and leg
caused by a fall at the battle of Fredericksburg, resulting in severe
rheumatism ; while added to this are the effects of malaria and this cli-
mate, all aggravated by a very severe cold contracted in the fight on
May 3d.

A soldier of the 13th writes home : " All happiness in the army here
is a matter of the imagination. I am not homesick, but tired of this man-
ner of living. The weather is now as hot as a New Hampshire July.
Soldiering loses all the charms it ever had in this place and heat. I
have a very depressed opinion of all the Southern cities I have yet seen,
neglected, old, broken down, ramshackle affairs." Another writes : " The
Thirteenth has shoveled dirt enough this season to make itself immortal,
were it possible so to do in this way."

June 2. Tues. Very warm. Reg. at work on fort and I'oad. Fine
shower last night. Lt. Col. Bowers receives his resignation papers.
Small-pox having made its appearance in camp and among the citizens,
a general vaccination is the order of the day. At a recent dinner, one

166 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

enthusiastic individual offers a toast to Lt. Col. Bowers in these words :
" Here 's to Col. Bowers. Jus' 's brave man (hie). Jus' 's brave man —
's any other brave man 's a brave man — (hie), jes' so ! "

June 3. Wed. Cooler. Welcome shower last night. Reg. at
work on fort and road. The 25th N. J., nine-months men, leave camp
for home this afternoon. They have been in our Brigade since Dec. 10,
1862. A very good regiment as a whole. Gen. Burnside says that we
have been merely on detached service since leaving Newport News
(•Neuse') on March 13th, and he shall "claim the honor, of defending
Suffolk, for the Old Ninth Corps." There is much talk of our joining
the Ninth Corps in Tennessee or Kentucky.

Lt. Col. George Bowers leaves the Reg., and camp here, for home, this
morning. While he is in a tent at bi'eakfast, the First Sergeants quietly
call out the Reg. The men surround the tent, where Lt. Col. Bowers is,
and surprise him with three cheers, and then three times three. He
comes out and tries to make a speech, but breaks down in tears. The
men give him three times three more cheers, and form a line to properly
honor him as he leaves the camj).

Extracts from letters written June 3, 1863, and later : " Lt. Col.
George Bowers left us this morning — June 3d. We feel very badly
to lose him — the best friend the Thirteenth had amongst all of its
officers, both field, staff and line. A party of sixteen of the officers of
the Thirteenth visited him at Mr. Edward Bunting's house on the even-
ing of June 2d, had a social chat and a serenade by the Band of the
Thirteenth. A formal and elaborate recei)tion and su})23er Avas planned
fur him for this evening, all the officers of the Regiment to be present ;
but he could not be persuaded to stop, he was so anxious to get home.
He Avas taking breakfast in camp this morning with Col. Stevens, and the
Captains had the men of all the companies in the Regiment quietly
assembled by the Fii'st Sergeants, formed them in line of battle, marched
them ui> to the tent where Lt. Col. Bowers was, and there at once sur-
rounded the tent on all sides, and surprised him by giving three rousing
cheers. He left the table, came to the tent door and attempted to ad-
dress the Regiment, but after a few words he broke down in tears. The
Regiment then gave him more cheers, and then returned to their quar-
ters. In the fight at Providence Church road on May 3d, he was for-
ward with the men during all the advance and charge, the day was very
warm, and he was much heated by his exertions. After we enteied the
woods he was chilled by their dam])ness. and caught a severe cold, wliich
settled in a rheumatic form in his limbs, rendering him unable to jjer-
form field duties." Capt. Julian.

June 4. Thurs. Pleasant. Reg. at work on fort and road. The
negroes ar*e coming into our lines in troops. A large camp of them is
formed in the woods between our camj) and Portsmouth. They regard
the Union soldiers as their deliverers, and are unconditional friends to us
wherever met. Strawberries cost but three cents a quart now, and they

1863

CAMP BOWERS. 167

are huge ; to eat ten cents' worth of them is considered a good morn-
ing's work. Chaplain Jones writes to a Northern paper : " Lt. Col.
Bowers looked after the needs and wants of the privates. They love
him. He was very courteous and kindly."

June 5. Fri. Warm. Reg. at work on fort. Very hard for the
men to work in this hot, steamy, sweet-box of a country. More talk in
camp about our being mustered out as nine-months men.

One word more about Lt. Col. Bowers. The soldiers' letters, that the
writer has looked over while j^rej^aring this sketch of the Reg., have con-
tained many very pleasant things written of Lt. Col. George Bowers. He
was, in short, the beau-ideal of a soldier, and of an officer, to the mem-
bers of the Thirteenth — their friend and their brother ; and there could
not possibly be a better proof of the affection of the members of the
Thirteenth for him than these remarks, written voluntarily and sponta-
neously to their relatives and friends at home, and in such way that Lt.
Col. Bowers would probably never hear a word of them. He served as a
Captain in the Mexican War, and greatly distinguished himself there on
many a battle-field. He was from early youth always prominent in the
affairs of the New Hampshire militia. Was Postmaster at Nashua from
1852 to 1860. Was twice Mayor of that city, in 1861 and in 1868, and
served in numerous minor public offices. For a year, 1862-3, he served
as Major in the Tenth Regiment Veteran Reserve Corps. Was Depart-
ment Commander of the New Hampshire Grand Army of the Republic
for the years 1879 and 1880, also Junior Vice Commander of the Na-
tional Department for the year 1881. His fellow officers in the Thir-
teenth, a few only excepted, raised a fund sufficient to meet the ex-
penses of his badge and initiation fees, and of his annual fees so long as
he lived, in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States,
and he was elected a member of the Massachusetts Commandery on
October 4, 1882. He died February 14, 1884, of heart disease, and
chronic diarrhoea contracted in the service at the front while he was a
member of the Thirteenth.

June 6. Sat. Cool. Heavy thunder shower this evening flooding
the camp. Capt. Stoodley assigned to the command of the axe-corps —
ten men from each comj^any, and each man provided with a sharp new
axe. Their first job, it is said, is the result of a mistake made by a
member of Gen. Getty's staff, and a large orchai-d belonging to one of
the enemy's officers is leveled. The axe-corps goes out to work every
morning at 5 a. m. ; 100 men, 10 Non-Commissioned Officers, 2 Lieuten-
ants and Capt. Stoodley. They return to camp at 11 a. m. and have the
rest of the day to themselves. Capt. Stoodley can, somehow, accomplish
more effective work with a gang of choppers than any other officer in
the Regiment. He goes about continually from squad to squad, and
plans the felling of nine tenths of the trees. His lively activity makes
him seem able to be in several different places at once — and the whole
of him in each of the several places.

168 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

June 7. Sun. Cool. Showers at night. Inspection. One Dress-
parade a week nowadays ; it ought to be with shovels, picks and axes,
for the Reg. now works with them all the time. Miss Hozier, residing
near Suffolk, a rebel spy, has been captured, while trying to make her
way to Richmond. She is found to have, hidden in the handle of her
parasol, exact diagrams and descriptions of our whole line of works, on
this front. She was captured May 27.

June 8. Mon. Warm, fair. Reg. slashing. The trees are felled
and left lying with their tops pointing towards the enemy, the limbs cut
off so as to form a sort of abatis, not above five feet high, and the more
intricately interwoven the better. Col. Button is absent on leave, and
Col. Donohoe of the 10th N. H., and formerly a Captain in the 3d N. H.,
has for some time been in command of our Brigade. Lieut. Young has
had charge of building the military road — mostly of corduroy — from
Ft. Rodman south to Ft. Tillinghast. The backwoodsmen of Company
H are selected to give lessons in felling trees.

June 9. Tues. Warm. Reg. slashing. Albe Holmes, ex-Lieutenant
of Company H, opens a fine stock of sutler's goods, and we now have for
the first time a sutler of our own. This summer stands of record as the
warmest known for many years. So it is always ; the last bad is the
worst bad of all bads. The Reg. is divided into bands of choppers,
shovelers, corduroy road makers, carpenters, etc., every man employed.

June 10. Wed. Warm, fair. Reg. slashing. Under this severe
labor in slashing and shoveling, the health of the Thirteenth is again
visibly breaking down. Lieut. Curtis has charge of the pioneers cutting
' bramble paths ; ' that is paths through the brambles, where the military
roads are to run. The path through the swamp between Forts Rodman
and Tillinghast had in many places to be cut foot by foot through thorny
tangling vines utterly impassable to man or beast ; a most intricate snarl
and network, in some places several rods in width and extending to the
tops of trees fifty to seventy-five feet high. Some of our jjioneers men-
tion this bramble cutting in language quite as tangled, bristling and
thorny as these most vicious vines themselves.

June 11. Th\irs. Warm, fair. Paymaster in camp. Reg. slashing.
The largest pine felled here this summer is a little over five feet in diame-
ter at three feet above the ground, very straight and tall ; but thousands
of noble trees from two to four feet in diameter have gone down to waste
and utter loss. Lieut. Murray returns to camp, but not yet to duty, his
wound not sufficiently healed. He is a brave, })rompt and efficient officer,
and has been greatly missed in the Regiment during his absence. A
large force sent from our lines here towards the Blackwater to dismantle
the rebel works. They find many skeletons of the unburied rebel dead.
Lieut. Staniels has been out, with a squad of soldiers, for three days,
picking up contrabands and sending them to the negro canq).

June 12. Fri. Hot. Reg. paid off to May 1st by Maj. G. W.
Dyer, in the forenoon ; in the afternoon earning greenbacks again at the

1863 CAMP BOWERS. 169

slashing. The able-bodied negi'oes, now coming in in great numbers,
are employed on the works, receiving rations for themselves and families,
and some money also, in the way of payment. Lieut. Coffin leaves camp
for home this morning ; resigned June 9tli, and honorably discharged
the service. Lieut. Staniels has charge of the guai'ds posted at citizens'
houses to protect their persons and property.

June 13. Sat. Warm, fair. Our whole Reg. slashing every day ;
clearing a space in front of our works eleven hundred yards wide. Sol-
diers are out scouring the country in all directions for loafing negroes.
Sometimes they bring in large numbers of them. One day two hundred
of them were marched in through our camp. W^hen the negroes cut
down a tree, they cut into the trunk on all sides alike, showing less sense
than a beaver when he gnaws a tree off ; while the butt of the log is left
sharpened to a central point, with a long ' scarf,' like a fence stake.
" The negroes here are filthy and indolent, and freedom to them means
perfect idleness ; they are brutes in human form, destitute of all ambi-
tion, and thieves — stealing everything they can lay their hands upon."
So writes truly one member of the Thirteenth.

June 14. Sun. Warm. Inspection in forenoon ; Dress-parade in
afternoon. The men of the Thirteenth and of the Fourth Rhode Island
fraternize on the most friendly terms. Some sort of temporary feud
exists, however, between the men of the Thirteenth and Tenth N. H.
The 10th were out of our Brigade for a long time between the battles of
Fredericksburg and Providence Church road.

June 15. Mon. Warm. Reg. at work. Col. Stevens' wife arrives
in camp. It is a fact that the more ignorant people about here have been
taught that the Yankees have horns. One of the worst things, which
they can think of, is that : " Abe Lincoln will make the negroes equal
with the white people, to eat at the same table with them, and to enjoy a
social and political equality."

June 16. Tues. Very warm. Reg. at work : so hard at work that
we have a Dress-parade only about once a week. Albion J. Jenness of E
is on guard at the house of one John Stafford. Unable to catch the idea
in the favorite Union army song, Mrs. Stafford wants to know, " Where
John Brown's soul is marching to."

June 17. Wed. Hot. Reg. slashing. " A detail from the 13th,
including myself, worked on Ft. Rodman, hewing timber for the maga-
zine and unloading cannon, from 6 p. m. yesterday to 1 a. m. to-day."
(LuEY.) Signs of a move. The trees stand very close together where the
Reg. is now chopping, and it is often exceedingly difficult to make around
a tree room enough in which to swing an axe, on account of the masses
of tangled thorny vines — greenbrier or bramble. The underbrush and
cane-brake form a dense jungle also. The thorns penetrate clothing, and
the men are punctured and scratched from head to foot.

June 18. Thurs. Hot, very. Reg. slashing. The trees are so
much tangled and tied together by vines that one often stands firmly up-

170 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1S63

right after being cut entirely off. Advantage is taken of this, and the
trees are cut nearly off, on one side, over a large space of ground — an
acre or more — and then some huge ' bull-pine,* or other large tree, is
felled directly into the mass — when down goes the whole ' drive,' with a
great noise and crash. The term of labor is increased to eight hours a
day, instead of four and a half hours. The men were obliged to work
slowly before, in the intense heat ; now their work will be " double-slow."

June 19. Fri. Fearfully hot. Showery. Reg. slashing — working
eight hours a day. Heavy guns coming down, from the forts nearer
Suffolk, and being placed in forts here. Corcoran's Irish Legion remain
in the vicinity of Suffolk. Our Brigade transferred from the 9th to the
7th Army Corps. Order read on Dress-parade to that effect.

June 20. Sat. Rainy, warm. A train of army wagons over a mile
in length passes down the road to-day. Marked signs of immediate
activity. One thing is certain, we are not nine-months men ; all bets on
that are off. As one man of the 13th writes, " Nine-months stock is flat."
The sick are sicker to-day — as a rule. The advance of Gen. Lee's army
toward Pennsjdvania calls for some movement of the troops in this com-
mand, and a hundred rumors are flying.

June 21. Sun. A little rain. Inspection at 11 a. m. Orders arrive
this noon for the Thirteenth to leave camp at one o'clock and to be ready
to embark at Portsmouth at three o'clock to-morrow morning. Our
camp is to be left standing, and a few men left to guard it, and to care
for the sick and convalescent. Several men, in view of trouble ahead,
are seized with violent fits of vomiting this evening ; a powerful emetic
and the guard house are prescribed, and work wonderful cures in every
case. Corcoran's Irish Legion are to garrison and hold this line in the
absence of our troops. Capt. Bradley is very sick, and is forbidden to
leave camp. He sits to-day on a stump, the jiicture of wretchedness,
watching the preparation made by his Company to march, and vowing
that he will follow. This is plucky.

Extract from a letter written June 21, 1863 : " Rainy. The Thir-
teenth will take knapsacks for the march to-morrow, three days' rations
in haversacks, and forty rounds of ball-cartridge per man. Lieut. Durell
is sick and will remain in camp ; Lieut. INIurray has not yet returned to
duty (recovering from his wound) ; First Sergeant Thompson will act as
Lieutenant." Capt. Julian.

An idea occurs to Gen. Dix, to create a diversion in favor of the Union
army in Pennsylvania, and to cut off Gen. Lee's conmunication with Rich-
mond on the north. Gen. E. D. Keyes is to move from White House,
almost due west along the York River Railroad, via Baltimore Cross
Roads, with about .5,000 men, to draw away the enemy from Bottom's
Bridges on the Chickahominy river, and to give them battle. He, how-
ever, finds the enemy too strong, and is delayed. Gen. Getty is to ])ro-
ceed from White House northwest, with al^out 7,000 men, nearly his
whole Division, directly upon Hanover Junction, and to destroy there the

1863 CAMP BOWERS. 171

Virginia Central and Fredericksburg -Railroad bridges over the North
and South Anna rivers. Both forces are to join as near as possible to
Richmond — for advance or retreat, as the case may determine.

'BLACKBERRY RAID.'

June 22. Mon. Very warm. Very dark last night. Tliirteenth is
called at twelve o'clock, midnight, of June 21st, leaves camp at one
o'clock this morning, and marches down the main road to Portsmouth.
One man of the Reg. writes : " The night was so dark that all the way we
could get along, in any kind of oi-der, was by the polished barrels of our
guns." In the woods, in the intense darkness, several of our men fall
into the deep ditch by the side of the road, and are fished out of the mud
and water with poles, and not exactly in a proper condition to appear on
a Dress-parade. One man of the Thirteenth somewhat given to stutter-
ing, and who had imbibed a little too freely before he left camp, re-
marked as he was pulled up from a plunge into the road-side ditch : " I 'm
all right ; but I doanunner(hic )stand this 'ere moo(hic)oove — it puts my
head all into a wh(hic)irl." And his remark becomes a by-word.

We embark at Portsmouth, about 4 a. m., on the steamer ' Maple
Leaf,' with the 4th R. I. Arrive at Yorktown about 10 p. m., debark
near midnight, march a couple of miles, and bivouac at 3 a. m. on the
plain near the Hessian burying-ground. Good place for a patriot camp.
The Thirteenth numbers about 400 men now here present for duty. The
men of the Thirteenth take their knapsacks for this march, with one
change of underclothing in them. The painted things are like huge non-
porous plasters upon the men's backs, the straps binding all clothing
closely about the chest and shoulders — a most vicious combination for
hard marching in hot weather. The side of a knapsack worn next a
man's back should be made of something less sweltering than painted
canvas ; it should be made of a piece of flannel that could be removed
and washed — or of sjionge.

June 23. Tues. Pleasant. Reg. called very early. The bivouac
last night was irregular, and the first thing done is to bring the tents into
the proper order of a regimental camp. Many men take a bath in the
river, the water quite clear.

Queer, battered, neglected, dilapidated, little decrepit old Yorktown.
Since Oct. 19, 1781, this town has been historic. Gen. Washington then
had here a victorious Patriot army of about 16,000 men, and Lord Corn-
wallis surrendered to him an army of 7,073 men; the spot is pointed out
to us where the commanders, and also the two armies, stood on that occa-
sion. We are of another Patriot army numbering hard upon two round
millions of men — so large have things grown in eighty odd years.

June 24. "Wed. Showery. Company drill in forenoon. Battalion
drill in afternoon. Here are vast deposits of sea shells, mostly scallops,
and where Gen. McClellan's troops cut into the hills are very many large

172 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

springs of water, clear as crystal ; and our men, recently from the low,
flat, muddy region about the Dismal Swamp, cannot drink enough of it.
McClellan's earth-works here are simply immense.

June 25. Thurs. Rainy, cool. Orders received to be ready to
move at a moments notice. Company drill in the forenoon — and a fine
scene it is when hundreds of companies can be seen manoeuvring at once.
Teams at evening are moving off. We are to wait until 3.30 a. m. to-
morrow. Thirteenth to march in heavy marching order. Curiosity
hunters visit the various jjlacesof interest. Among others the tree where
' California Joe,' as a sharp-shooter, concealed himself, and silenced a
rebel battery, and also shot the negro Confederate sharp-shooter who had
killed and wounded many of our pickets, one year ago. Capt. Grantman,
who has been at Norfolk on court martial duty, rejoins the Reg. here.

June 26. Fri. Rainy, warm. Reg. called at 2 a. m., marches at
3.30 a. m., embarks at wharf in town on the steamer ' Hero,' at 6 a. m.,
with the 10th N. H., and moves at 8 a. m. up the York and Pamunkey
rivers to White House Landing, arriving there about 3 jd. m. ; debarks,
moves out half a mile or so, and encamps near a magnolia swamj), at the
north side of the York River Railroad. A little, round monitor fort, of
the enemy's, mounting one gun, was here rendered useless by one well-
directed shot, made yesterday by our gunboat ; the enemy, however,
got off with his gun about 6 a. m., burned the culverts and bridges on the
railroad, and tore up much of the track, behind him, as he retired ; he
also burned a number of buildings, the ruins of which are smoking when
we arrive. The 11th Penn. Cavalry are now clearing our front. The
old ' White House ' here was the scene of Washington's early married
life, and the property of his wife ; the house is now in ruins.

June 27. Sat. Fair ; rained hard last night. Reg. still in bivouac.
In the magnolia swamp near by, the trees in full bloom furnish so much
fragrance that many men are made sick, and our camp is moved farther
away from it. Inspection and Company drill in forenoon. Battalion drill
in afternoon, followed by a Dress-parade. Our picket line is out but a
little way — scarce a rifle-shot from camp. Gen. Spear's cavalry come in
with a long train of captured wagons, many mules and 120 prisoners, and
with them Confederate Brig. Gen. W. H. Lee ; trophies of the lltli l*enn.
Cavalry. Army rations run short, and one soldier of the 13th writes :
" A great supply of nothing to eat ; fried mutton for supper."

June 28. Sun. Showery. Inspection, parade, and prayers by our
Chaplain. The men find a number of Gen. McClellan's unused coffins,
and make them do duty for the living, in the form of bedsteads ; not at
all bad. The bones of a few men, found near camp, are still more sugges-
tive. The ribs and uprights of Gen. McClellan's old army wagons make
good shelter-tent poles. Our commissariat appeared last night, and to-day
we have fresh beef. Gen. Dix and staff pass along the lines.

Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker succeeded in command of the Army of the
Potomac by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade.

1863

BLACKBERRY RAID. 173

June 29. Mon. Very showery ; a clear afternoon. Reg. drills aU
day and lias a Dress-parade at sundown, when orders are i-ead transfer-
ring us to the 2d Div. 7th Army Corps. In some places about us the
ground is literally blue with a kind of passion flower — the vines are said
to grow little gourds called " pop-apples." The rebels collected a large
force of negroes here yesterday for work about Richmond ; but last night
they mutinied, seized boats, made rafts, etc., crossed the river, and came
into our lines. They pass our camp to-day in a large crowd ; men, women
and children all together, each with a bundle. They will be sent to Fort-
ress Monroe. They made a bold dash for freedom, and secured it.

June 30. Tues. Pleasant. Orders to move at call to-morrow
morning, with cooked rations, and in light marching order ; but the 13th
and other regiments in our Brigade take knapsacks — heavy marching
order. Reg. mustered for pay by Col. Wm. Keine of the 103d N. Y.
Company E has several Kenistons, and Col. Keine has them all stand out
until he can muster them beyond a chance for doubt, and causes a laugh
in the Regiment by his remarks — wants to know if there are any more
" Kan-ee-stones." He is evidently of German extraction.

The general orders upon this raid are that the regiments shall be called
out at 3 a. m., have breakfast, and be ready to march at any time from 4
to 7 a. m. — and to halt when the man on horseback gets tired. The
scattering of white citizens hereabout, as the Union army approaches,
shows their classic tastes — the word ' skedaddle ' being excusable Greek.
The word seems to be a product of this civil war. Lieut. Young is placed
on picket on the York River Railroad, and visits the vedettes of the 11th
Penn. Cavalry. They have just killed and cooked a pig, — cooking him
almost sooner than he died. The Lieutenant, not knowing the state of
the meat, is invited to join in the lunch. He does so. There is no salt
to be had, nevertheless all eat heartily of the meat. The result is that all
are made fearfully sick. This experience proves that hunger is not al-
ways the best sauce.

July 1. Wed. Warm, very. Reg. called at 3 a. m. ; crosses the
railroad bridge over the Pamunkey to the east side at 7 a. m. ; marches
to King William Court House near the Mattapony, a march of about nine
miles, and bivouacs at 6.30 p. m. on a low, wet, muddy, plowed field
about half a mile beyond the collection of buildings. During the day the
weather has changed, and a cold rain sets in. The road is an abomina-
tion for mud, the field also. The men are very tired, and procure some
unthreshed wheat, from the stacks near by, to keep their blankets and
themselves out of the mud in to-night's bivouac. We have fairly turned
in, when an order comes from the " General commanding," for the men to
return " every straw of that wheat " to the stacks. The poor men turn out
in the pouring rain, gather up the wheat, and replace it on the stacks
— accompanying their action by very many remarks In ' camp language.'
About midnight fires suddenly break out among those wheat stacks, and
they disappear in smoke, together with a blacksmith shop and a large mill

174 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHHiE REGIMENT. 1863

— the great fires lighting up the entire camp. Instead of a few hushels of
wheat with tlie straw going to a much needed bed in the mud, many hun-
dreds of bushels of wheat, straw and all, go to a useless rest in ashes.
Company li of the Thirteenth is rear-guard to-day. They did not burn
the wheat — but they believe that a lunch of broiled chicken is just as good
for a rear-guardsman as for any other man.

The force now advancing here consists of the 11th Penn. and 2d Mass.
Cavalry ; 8th, 11th, loth and 16th Conn. ; 10th and 13th N. H. ; 3d,
89th, 99th, 103d, 112th, 117th, 118th N. Y. ; 13th Indiana ; lG5th,
IGCth, 169th Penn., and the 4th R. I. Infantry Regiments, and four
Batteries — all under command of Gen. Getty. Occasionally in a turn of
the road nearly the whole force comes into view at once, and, as we
march compactly in good order, makes a fine aj^pearance among the trees
and green fields ; the muskets glistening near and far, in long lines and
masses, and well mounted horsemen dashing here and there. They call
this force the Second Division of the Seventh Army Corps. Our Brigade
is under command of Col. M. T. Donohoe of the 10th N. H.

July 2. Thiirs. Hot, very. Reg. called between 2 and 3 a. m.,
and marches from 4.30 a. m. until about 11 a. m. At 3 p. m. the Reg.
moves on about half a mile and encamps. Several cases of sunstroke
among our troops. Roads abominable. We bivouac near Brandywine.
We are marching through the very granary of Gen. Lee's army, and are
imder the strictest orders to appropriate nothing at all ; while at this very
hour Gen. Lee, with an enormous army, is devastating the quiet fields
and homes of Pennsylvania. Here too are hundreds of acres of wheat,
corn and oats, cultivated under the superintendency of Gen. Lee's own
soldiers, detailed for this especial purpose — one soldier for every ten
or fifteen negroes — and who skedaddle for Richmond as we approach.
Our men are even ordered not to go to wells and springs, along the road,
for water to drink ; in fact, the strictness is exasperating to both men and
officers, and necessarily provokes mere wanton mischief from the hands
of lawless men among us. Still we will, and we do, to some extent, pro-
cure and eat what we want the most — early fruit, chickens, lambs and
young beef. They say that in a field, not far from our camp, is a pile of
fifty or more lambskins — winter clothing, of course, that the lambs have
laid by.

Jiily 3. Fri. A very warm day. Reg. called at 3 a. m. and marches
at 6 a. m. We pass through Mongohit and Mechanicsville, so called.
Have been put upon the wrong road, and are obliged to countermarch.
In crossing a little stream to-day, some men. belonging to a regiment
ahead of us, rush into the water, drink deei)ly, come out. stagger a few
steps — and drop dead. The most of this force is moving in light march-
ing order, and such was the order to our Brigade ; but the 10th and 13th
N. H. Regiments, at least, move in heavy marching order, taking every-
thing with them — knapsacks, blankets, shelter tents, their change of
clothing, etc., etc. Some one has made a mistake, and caused our men

1863

BLACKBERRY RAID. 175

great loss, and fearful suffering from the heat. We make a long halt
about noon. Hot as Tophet. At this noon halt the men enjoy an abun-
dance of blackberries, the ground being covered with them. Cases of
sunstroke very common ; there is scarcely a worse sight than a man lying
dead of sunstroke. The Reg. marches again at 4 p. m., and continues to
march, with frequent halts, till 9 p. m. After a march of 18 miles, the
Reg. bivouacs at midnight on Confederate Gen. Taylor's plantation, said
to be about three miles north of Hanover Court House. The vicinity is
called Horn's Quartei-s. We here liberate 50 or 75 slaves ; some of them
start at once down uj)on our line of march, others remain to follow the
army. The Thirteenth, and a large part of our Brigade, halts here,
while a large force pushes on, across the Pamunkey, for Hanover Junction,
eight miles distant to the northward. Taylor's farm is used as a sort of
headquarters. Union soldiers have been posted to guard the citizens'
property at every house all along the roads ; we see them on doorsteps
and piazzas, under trees, everywhere.

July 4. Sat. Hot. Reg. called at 3 a. m., but we do not march
until after 9 a. m. AVe march about five miles to Hill's plantation in
Caroline County — where we pass through one cornfield said to contain
1,()00 acres, the corn up to our shoulders — and halt at Littlepage's
bridge between 10 and 11 a. m., and remain during the day and night,
along the road and on the I'iver bank. Detachments from the Thirteenth
and the Tenth N. H. are sent upon picket along the river. The rest of
the Thirteenth, acting as Gen. Getty's body-guard, take the day in ease
and peace, along the road and river, among the trees. The force which
crossed the river here last night and this moi'ning, moving towards Han-
over Junction, said to be nearly the whole Division, has a severe skir-
mish with the enemy during the day, and we can plainly hear the artil-
lery engagement ; at times the firing is very heavy. Roundly speaking,
two brigades cross the river, and one (ours) remains here as a reserve.

As the Reg. halts, in an oatfield, to-day just before dinner. Adjutant
Boutwell and Asst. Surgeon Sullivan go to the nearest house, take posses-
sion and try to have a dinner prepared, but fail. However, by pushing
things, they succeed in obtaining an excellent supper for themselves and
a number of other officers. After eating the supjjer, they — like gallant
and honorable soldiers — pay for it. Quite a number of our officers
sleep, to-night, on the floor of the house.

We celebrate the Fourth of July in a novel fashion. We have here a
hundred or more liberated slaves, of all ages, sizes and complexions. One
girl about fourteen j^ears old and several boys would readily pass for
white children. (This girl was sent North, adopted in a good family,
brought up and educated.) These slaves, well aware of the import of
July 4th, are induced to give us an exhibition of their plantation melodies
and dances. They join hands, form a large circle, and pass arotind and
around for half an hour, bending their bodies and knees with a ' courtesy
and a jerk,' as only the negro can ; stamping time with their feet, singing

176 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

melodies that no one of us can understand, and occasionally repeating a
yell in every conceivable tone and compass of voice, rapidly and succes-
sively round and round the circle, as if each one in turn were suddenly
struck mad. They give also a number of duets and solos, and dances for
which the music is ' clapped ' on the musician's knee. The play is kept
up for hours, until they are tired of the show — and we also. Sugar, as
a reward for their entertainment, is chiefest in demand. JMany of us are
emptied of our store. The little dai'key will take a handful, fill his
mouth, roll his eyes in ecstasy, and then lick his hands and fingers clean
— that have not been clean before for three montlis.

We bivouac here under the protection of a strong picket. There are
captured near here, from the enemy, about 150 horses, 50 mules, and 50
head of fine cattle. Our forces across the river are aiming to destroy
certain bridges on the Virginia Central and the Fredericksburg Rail-
roads, but find the enemy there in force, and this evening we can hear
heavy firing at Hanover Station ; the firing commencing at 4 p. m.
While the Reg. is broken up, in detachments for picket along the river,
Company C, organized as a special guard, under command of Lieut. Cur-
tis, holds Littlepage's bridge — a post of great importance. Companies
C and E act as brigade rear-guard in the march and movements of to-day.

The Lieutenant of the Thirteenth who had charge of the regimental
Pioneer-corps to-day, which partly tore up Littlepage's bridge and pre-
pared the remaining portion for firing on the retreat of our troops across
it from Hanover Station, came into the camjj of the Thirteenth late at
night thoroughly tired out, and laid him down to pleasant dreams. The
Reg. were lying all about him soundly sleeping — a sleep very much
needed. The Lieutenant had not been asleep ten minutes when he was
seized by a terrible attack of nightmare, and soon brought the larger part
of the Reg. to their feet by belching out the most hideous, blood-curdling
torrent of howls and screams imaginable. It was several minutes before
he could be quieted, while the men near him indulged in much vigorous
' cam]) language.'

Jvily 5. Sun. Pleasant, warm. The good news from Gettysburg
reaches us this morning, and gives occasion for hvely cheering.

Heavy firing is heard near very early this morning, and approaching
nearer, as our forces retreat from the Junction. Wounded men ai'e com-
ino- in on country wagons. The 13th is called about daylight, its pickets
are relieved about 7 a. m. and the Reg. at once assembles in the road
close down to Littlepage's bridge, ready for anything that may turn up.
As the morning and forenoon passes, bodies of infantry march rapidly
past us, and form lines of battle in the fields in our rear, all looking as if
they had experienced a very rough time of it. It is said, however, that
of the force which crossed the river, only the 99th N. Y. and the 165th
Penn. engaged the enemy. Detachments from the 13th and the 10th
N. H., working together, pile upon Littlepage's bridge a large amount of

1863

BLACKBERRY RAID. 177

combustible material. A battery tears across the bridge, rushes past us,
the horses galloijing. jumping over and crushing down fences, and takes
position in our rear, in the field, and prepares for action. Things look
decidedly squally. The skirmishing approaches nearer and nearer, the
firing sharp. The 13th moves back a little out of the road and forms
again in line of battle, across a field, near and in support of the battery.
The 10th are to set the bridge on fire and follow. Just as the last of our
troops have crossed, and the bridge is well on fire, a man suddenly ap-
pears on the roof of his house, oft' to our right, as we face towards the
river — westward — and waves a signal flag to the enemy across the
river. Soon a body of our cavalry takes him in hand, and his house
joins the bridge — in smoke. His was a piece of treachery.

Now comes the hardest marching that we have ever endured. The
13th lead the whole force on to-night's march, and are ordered to reach
Ayletts before one o'clock to-morrow morning. Starting about 9.30 a. m.,
we first go back to Taylor's plantation, about five miles, at the top of our
speed. After a short halt here, near Horn's Quarters, the 13th is joined
by the 10th ; who come up much out of breath, and minus their knap-
sacks, for many of these have also joined the bridge in smoke. Our
Brigade looks very finely drawn uj) in the ample grounds of this splendid
mansion. Ammunition is here specially examined, extra rations are sup-
plied, and near 1 p. m. we march about one mile, and are assigned posi-
tion. At 5.30 p. m. is commenced a forced march, that is kept up until
we reach White House. Sweeping round northward past the Hebron, or
Bethel, church, towards the Mattapony, on a different road from the one
by which we came up, our first halt, except for ten minutes or so, is near
Ayletts, on the Mattapony River at 1.15 a. m. (Lieut. Staniels.) Dis-
tance 18 miles since 5.30 p. m. Soon we are off for another mile, and
at 2 a. m. we bivouac in an open field for about three hours. We march
twenty-four miles in eight hours of marching time ; mostly in the dark,
with scarcely a halt, and the night damp and warm. On this night march
the men suffer terribly from thirst, and actually dip water out of puddles
in the middle of the road, and drink it, after hundreds of horses, mules
and men have splashed through it — ' horse coffee,' as the boys call it,
and with a vengeance !

" Joseph H. Prime of F is a large man. The largest army shoes to be
had are too short for him, and on this raid he has been obliged to go
barefoot the most of the march ; the result is that his feet are very sore,
and on this night march his feet are bleeding, and his ankles swollen, ren-
dering him unable to proceed. Rising to march after one halt he is un-
able to stand, and Lieut. Young, in command of the rear-guard to-night,
lifts him by main strength upon his shoulders, carries him to the teams
and puts him on one of the wagons. The wagon is crowded, and in or-
der to make room for Prime, Lieut. Y'oung pulls out of the wagon a man
— so called — who had no business on the wagon at all, and who wears
a Major's uniform. The lifting of Prime, the tussle with the Major, who

178 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

was merely tired or lazy, the march, the labor in keeping up stragglers
and caring for the rear-guard, and the severe cold taken in the morning's
bivouac at Ayletts while sleeping on the bare ground without cover,
brought on a disability from which Lieut. Young has never recovered,
and was the cause of his final resignation of the service. Prime declared
on this occasion, that as soon as he returned to camj) he would apply for
promotion to an official position in a regiment of colored troops. This
he did, and received a commission as Captain in the 25th U. S. Colored
Infantry, Nov. 4, 1863." Lieut. Young.

' Ambulance Brown ' prefers a black moustache on his amiable face to
the huge paler hued one which nature sujjplies. The color he takes along
in his pocket is handy to have in the Thirteenth. For instance : Our
excellent Asst. Surgeon Small finds among the captured horses one that
suits his fancy. A whining rebel citizen appears and begs for his '' dear
horse." The Colonel tells this Mr. Secesh to go among the herd and pick
out his horse, and he will see about its return. Tlie horse had a white
foot or two, a white star in his face and a white nose. Brown, however,
tlie moment he sets his sharp eyes upon this horse, sees that he is a valua-
ble animal, and suspects that he will be demanded. He decides that this
particular horse is not the horse he was, and to prove it, he whips out his
moustache dye — without the knowledge of the Colonel or Asst. Surgeon
Small — and colors all the white marks on the horse jet black. This job
has hardly been completed, when Mr. Secesh appears in the herd, and
still further proves the horse not the horse he was, by being utterly un-
able to find his lost property — the work so well done he does not recog-
nize his own " dear horse," and goes his way lamenting. When it is safe
to do so the color is washed off — and now he is the horse he was. He
does good service in the army, and is brought North at the end of the
war. No one but ' Ambulance Brown ' would ever have thought of dyeing
a horse's moustache — but you see the habit of dyeing moustaches had
grown strong upon him.

Jiily 6. Mon. Rainy. Reg. is up and starts again about 4 a. m., is
jerked around awhile, and at 8.30 a. m. marches from Ayletts to A}'-
letts Station, to a field a little beyond King William Court House, in the
forenoon, about 10 miles. P^ncamps here in the afternoon — about 3 p. m.
— in a heavy rain. A halt is necessary for the stragglers to come up.
The roads are in a terrible condition — awfully muddy. Added to this
the men are thoroughly drenched in the rain, and have the extra diffi-
culty of marching in wet clothes. We remain here until morning. Near
Mongohit road about midnight last night, the enemy came up with the
rear-guard, and threatened mischief ; V)ut the scare had an excellent effect
in stopping unnecessary sti-aggling. It is reported that guerillas have
shot a number of stragglers — and tliey take no prisoners any way. Sev-
eral fine horses were taken last niglit from barns and stables. The writer
saw a valuable roan horse taken from a potato hoard, or small cellar, in a
field quite a distance from any house. He was awfully hungry, heard

18C3 BLACKBERRY RAID. 179

somebody coming, called for provender, told where he was, was rescued,
fed, cared for and taken along — no brands.

But at the final halt, as the Division is now together again, the scene
changes. All the captured mules, horses, teams, carts, wagons, and fat
calves led by a string, are filed into a large cattle yard by the Provost
Marshal, and there is a general — and many a special — unloading. At
King William Court House, where, on the way uj), the men could not
have straw to sleep on, they are obliged now to relinquish all the ' practical
fruits ' of this famous raid ; to leave their fresh meat on the hoof, and
their conveyances, shawls, swallow-tail coats, plug hats, umbrellas, fancy
parasols, etc., all so dear to the soldier's heart, and come down to army
rations, and the weather, unprotected. They sullenly and slowly strap
on their coarser soldier traps, and gear, and then march, and — grumble.
The taste for luxuries must hereafter be confined to blackberries and warm
water from the wayside-brook. If you ever go on a raid steer clear of
King William Court House.

Jiily 7. Tues. Warm, heavy showers. Reg. up at daylight, starts
at 7 a. m., marches to the White House, and encamps there at noon. Dis-
tance about nine miles. The troops of both expeditions all come to-
gether here again. Col. Dutton resumes command of our Brigade, and
Col. Donohoe, who is sick, goes by steamer to Norfolk. All sick men
are examined to-night by the Surgeons. Many of our men, who are
utterly used up, are also put on a transport at 9 p. m. — the ' Juniata '
— and sent to our old camp in the Pines. One man of the 13th writes :
" We were stowed away on that transport like dumplings in a steam
box." The Band also go down by boat. Men have marched with galled
and blistered feet, the nails coming off their toes. The fury of the slave-
holders, whose slaves we brought off with us, was intense, their threats
and curses bitter and deep ; but in these days a slaveholder's damn is
not worth a tinker's dam — we smile, the darkeys grin, they stamj},
swear and howl with impotent fury.

July 8. "Wed. Hot ; heavy showers. Reg. marches at 6 a. m. to
New Kent Court House, and about six miles beyond. Distance twelve
miles. Roads one mass of mud. Two wagons are mired in one place,
cannot be extricated, and are burned. The worst roads and worst mud
we ever saw. As we march to-day over a bad corduroy road, old, rotten
and strewn with army waste, a big darkey, leading a mule, gets off the
road with his charge and into a deep slough. The darkey is rescued
with a pole, but the mule goes down, down until his ears and soriy coun-
tenance are alone visible — a sudden struggle, a gulp or two, and a few
bubbles are the last signs of the mule. The darkey's sole comment, given
with a scared grin, was : " 'I, golly I Done gone forebber ! " as he
plainly saw how he himself might also have gone under, but for that pole
and a few strong men. The Thirteenth are all placed on picket, to-
night, as rear-guard, and forage far and wide for something good to eat.

During the first halt, near New Kent Court House, of scarcely half an

180 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHHIE REGIMENT. 1863

hour and In a pouring rain, some of the men have a lunch of ' quick-pig.'
They had caught him a mile or two hack, had knocked him on the head
and partly dressed him while they marched. Instantly upon halting the
pig is cut into very thin slices and distributed, a fire is built — of dry
wood found in some wood-shed by the way, rolled in a rubber blanket
and lugged may be for a mile or more — the thin slices of meat are rolled
in salt, put on a green stick, and broiled in the fire. When a dozen
veteran soldiers start upon an affair of this kind, a halt of ten or fifteen
minutes suffices to furnish them with a hearty meal.

After this first halt, the 13th moves a little way to drier land near
some buildings, and remains there for nearly two hours. Then marches
about four hours to make six miles ; the teams in the train, we are guard-
ing, sticking fast in the mud at every few rods. We are marching to Hamp-
ton as a convoy to the wagon train.

July 9. Thurs. Hot. Reg. marches about 6 a. m., and continues on
for 18 miles towards Yorktown ; a part of the distance is made at the rate
of a forced march. At one halt to-day, after a severe spurt in the march,
one company in the Thirteenth actually borrowed a gun to complete a
stack of three muskets — in order to strictly obey the order : " Halt.
Stack Arms — Rest." At the final halt for the day, about three miles
above Williamsburg, at 7 p. m., there are not a dozen men present in
some of the companies. The sick and lame of the Thirteenth, who go
down on the ' Juniata,' arrive in the Pines at 3 p. m. to-day. Many of
them lost on the raid almost everything they had, and come to camp bare-
foot and shirtless.

July 10. Fri. Hot. Reg. marches into Yorktown, and about 6 p. m.
occupies its old camp, that was vacated June 26th. Distance to-day 18
miles ; as we wind around about somewhat, the whole distance marched
is by some estimated at above 20 miles. The men are terribly tired and
stragglers are coming in all night. As we pass through Williamsburg
the College of William and Mary, battered and worn, is in a ' vacation '
longer than its longest of old. A statue of Jefferson (said to be) also
battered and worn, looks down upon us as we hurry through this capital
of Virginia's proud old days. How this world does turn over and over
as it goes ! Now that the men are in camp again, their change of shirts
and stockings, thrown away with their knapsacks while on the raid, would
be very acceptable ; hundreds of men and officers are in the river bath-
ing, and washing their clotliing, which they wring out and at once put on
again — almost imperative, but a bid for chills and fever.

July 11. Sat. Warm, pleasant. Reg. resting at Yorktown. In
passing through the fortifications near Williamsburg we came to one
point where we could count 13 rebel forts all in one view ; their Fort Ma-
gruder is a woi"k of immense strength. The battle-field is terribly torn
and l)roken even now, and strewn with everything used by an army, and
not (juickly perishable. Over five hundred contrabands have followed
our little army down here from the " Up-country," as they call it. Sergt.

1863 BLACKBERRY RAID. 181

James M. Hodgdon of B, who went to the old camp in the Pines, on the
' Jmiiata,' writes of to-day : " Rainy and warm. The flies bite fearfully.
Took out Companies H and K on a Dress-parade, where I acted as Cajj-
tain, with no shirt on — all right."

July 12. Sun. Very warm ; light showers. Reg. marches at 5
a. m., and encamps on the old battle-lield at Big Bethel. Distance 14
miles. Here also are very strong fortifications. Now come the huge
rijje blackberries in rich abundance. At every halt the men scatter and
pick them. Hence the name of this march — ' Blackberry Raid.' One
halt of an hour to-day is made especially for blackberries, so it is said ; at
any rate several thousand men, in a long line, halt, stack arms, and at
once fall to gathering the luscious berries. They whom the berries fail
to fill, take a lunch from their haversacks.

The showers to-day — like most summer showers in the South — in-
stead of cooling the atmosphere, fill it with a warm, stifling steam, hard
to breathe, clogging the lungs, and really increasing the heat ; a state of
the air in which sunshine is not necessary to produce sunstroke, as it is
called, several fatal cases of which occur in to-day's march.

July 13. Mon. Fair. Reg. called at 3 a. m., starts about 4 a. m.
and marches, via Little Bethel, crossing New Market bridge, to Hampton,
arriving there about 9 a. m., rests all the day, and embarks there at 6
p. m. on the steamer ' Express,' crosses to Portsmouth, and arrives at
our old camp in the Pines at 11 p. m. Distance marched, besides the
sail, 14 miles. The entire tramp, on this raid, is estimated to have been
from 160 to 175 miles of actual marching, our marching time twelve days
and nights, besides the distance made by steamers.

As the Thirteenth comes into camp, every denizen turns out, and the
whole conmiand cheers until the midnight woods ring, echo, and ring
again. Now at midnight we stretcli our weary limbs upon the welcome
bunks in our old quarters, and sleep as only soldiers can — and after the
toughest march in their experience. We find our tents remaining exactly
as we left them, no knot in string or rope untied ; ' the furniture in our
whole absence has not even been dusted.'

While we were waiting at the landing near Hampton to-day, a large
water-spout ' spiraled ' up Hampton Roads, and broke upon a sandy point
near by us. The water came down literally in chunks, for a little while,
in the open country, and soon we were treated to a severe shower of rain.
As the water-spout approached before it burst — or fell in pieces — there
was a lively scattering of the small boats in the bay. An old darkey fish-
ing for soft-shell crabs found himself directly in its track, and being un-
able to row his boat fast enough to escape the monster, sprang out of it
and waded ashore, while his boat soon went up the spout — literally —
and in falling again was smashed in pieces. The old fellow, as he came
ashore, blubbered out : " Thought I was done gone for, dat time —
shuah ! " We thought so too.

Somewhere up the Peninsula the medical department of the Thir=

182 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHHIE REGIMENT. 1863

teenth captured a pair of mules and a wagon, all together worth hard upon
a thousanil dollars, and used them in the interest o£ our tired men upon
the march. They finally fell to the charge of our Asst. Surgeon John
Sullivan ; and the ' Doc's mules ' are exceedingly handy to have in our
I'egimental family.

A shower came up suddenly one day while we were in the road march-
hig, and instantly the army, stretched along in sight for a mile or mcfre,
was changed into a procession with umhrellas and jjarasols of every style
and color — a most ludicrous scene ; while gay colored shawls, cloaks, and
old plug hats were too numerous to mention. The soldier must have his
fun. The writer saw one soldier in the loth on the march, purchase of
a negro woman a dirty, ragged shawl woven in brilliant stripes of red,
yellow and green. He washed it, repaired it, brought it to camp, paraded
in it upon occasion, and finally sent it home. Many similar purchases
were made of old odds and ends as curiosities and relics. The damage
done, on this expedition, to private property, was mostly done by rebel
guerilla parties, who fell back from district to district, as our forces ad-
vanced. Their damage being done to ' fire the Southern heart ; ' an at-
tempt to blackmail the Union soldiers, who foraged for fresh provisions,
and that was about all, excepting for the grotesque or old-fashioned things
with which to make sport. One of tlie amusing features was the con-
spicuous absence of the native white population. Any inquiry about the
man of the house would be answered by the statement that he had ' gone
to mill,' ' gone to see a sick brother,' ' gone to town ' — or gone to any
indefinite place upon any indefinite errand. The darkey usually said :
'Guess he done goned off somewhere ! ' — an answer always given slyly and
with the negro grinning chuckle, as if the white man's sudden absence
was a most amusing thing, but a little dangerous to laugh about just yet-
One dark night a huge deer dashed into the road, over the brush fence,
and collided with a mule team. The mules brayed •with fright, and that
scared the deer more and more. After a short, sharp struggle among the
straps and traces, he extricated himself, bounded over the fence at the
other side of the road ; and his long gallop could be heard for some time,
as he made off in the darkness, as fast as liis legs could carry him. The
orders against firing were so strict that we did not dare to shoot him.

The men of the Thirteenth, and in some cases the officers, when we came
to water at convenient places on the march, took off sliirts and socks,
washed them, wrung them out, put them on again at once, wet, and
marched on. When we reached Yorktown almost the vvliole command
took a bath in the river, and washed their clothing. Think of shirts and
socks worn in midsummer, for three weeks, witliout Avashing!

" It should be nnrlerstood that the Thirteenth wore their knapsacks on
this raid with a change of underclothing In them, but the extreme heat
compelled their throwing them away, contents and all ; and thus they
were scattered aU along the roads, from White House to Fontaincbleau."

Lt. Col. Smith.

1863

BLACKBERRY RAID. , 183

Several of the men hid their knapsacks soon after leaving White
House, and recovered them on the return march. Others tried the same
experiment farther up, and lost them because of the change in the roads
on the return route ; and these and their varied contents, snugly tucked
under boai'ds, brush and hedges, await the effect of time, or the futui*e
collector of useless relics.

fiear the wharf at Hampton was a body of raw Ohio troops, hundred-
days men, the officers with white kids, and the men with white gloves
and collars, while the price-mark was not yet worn off their flag-staffs.
One of these asks a man of the Thirteenth : " Are you hundred-days
men ? " " Yes," answers Thirteen, " One hundred days without a clean
shirt — and now it is your turn." Another of these fresh men com-
plained that he had had ' no butter on his bread for more than a week.'

At one aristocratic mansion, near which Ave halted, when far up on the
Penmsula, a number of young ladies had shut themselves in, and refused
to be seen. After a little, our Band is drawn up on their lawn ; and a grand
vocal and instrumental concert, or serenade, is immediately in full chorus,
with many fine male voices rendering popular airs, in rich measure. This
proves to be more than the pretty girls can resist, and soon the mansion
doors are wide open. Later the Band moves up on the piazza, and with
their instruments very near the open windows plays our National airs, re-
sponded to by the young ladies at the piano with ' Stonewall Jackson,'
' My Maryland,' ' Bonnie Blue Flag,' and other Southern airs.

It is said that Spear's cavalry approached within twelve miles of Rich-
mond, and that they helped themselves pretty freely to abandoned prop-
erty. Of quite a large body of them, which we saw, no two were dressed
alike — a motley cavalcade. We marched over 130 miles in the first ten
davs of July. Then in two days marched from Yorktown to Hampton,
28 miles ; making about 160 miles in twelve days, under a midsummer
Virginia sun — and moon. It is regarded as a very severe, and success-
ful march, so far as time, distance and order are concerned. We did not
see half a dozen able-bodied white men, be'tween the ages of 18 and 60,
in the whole trip above Yorktown. Guards were set at all points to pro-
tect rebel property. The excessive rigor of protection made, among the
men, a hero of every successful forager, of whom there were a great many.
Taking was, by order, confined to military necessity, and military necessi-
ties consequently grew every day more and more numerous. The nightly
lullaby was the squealing of pigs and the squawking of poultry. The men
well knowing that what they did not then eat, the rebel soldiers would eat
by and by, for we were on the regular supply grounds of the rebel army ;
and every fifteen of the negroes had a white overseer, appointed, practi-
cally, by the Confederate government. We met negroes everywhere, and
in great numbers. They look upon us as their deliverers and are exceed-
ingly friendly. Their intelligence is surprising. Some of them seem to
act as if they had been waiting forty years for a chance to free their
minds ; and the pent-up accumulation of mental and sentimental matter

184 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

is voided in a flood. Amusing and pitiable — both in the extreme. The
enterprising New York Herald, somehow, followed us on the raid. It
reaches our camp, here in the Pines, at 9 a. m., on the next day after it
is jjublished, and seems to sell ten to one against any other paper that
comes to the army.

The opinion prevails throughout the expeditionary force, that if our
body of about 12,000 effective men — and that is a very low estimate of
our strength — had kept together in one column, and had struck straight
for Richmond, disregarding all minor side issues, we could have easily cap-
tured that city, done incalculable damage to the rebel army supplies and
property of the Confederacy, and returned in safety.

Hospital Steward Royal B. Prescott writes, July 20. 1863 : " We had
our knapsacks with us on this march — our Brigade only was so bur-
dened ; and loud and hearty were the curses of the men upon the officer
who issued the order to take them. Manson S. Brown of C carried our
Hospital supplies. Strict orders were issued by Gen. Dix against taking
anything from the inhabitants along the road ; but the inhabitants insulted
the men all they could, hence retaliation upon their property. The
weather was excessively hot. Knapsacks and blankets were thrown
away, collected by the rear-guard, and burned. On the afternoon of July
2d the column reached Mr. Fontaine's plantation. He was gone. His
wife and negroes were left at home. The bummers in revenge (for some-
thing done or said) smashed everything in his house. The parlor floor
was painted with a mixture made of a pot of yellow j^aint, a pot of black
paint, a barrel of flour and a cask of molasses. Gen. Getty was furious
when he heard of this mischief, but a drum-head court martial held that
night failed to convict any one.^ The house and buildings were after-
wards burned. We saw acres on acres, square miles on square miles, of
ripe wheat. Very little damage was done to crops, so they wiU go to feed
the rebel army ; and in a land of immense plenty we are confined to
army rations, and short at that. Men at night fell like logs, went at once
to sleep, in mud, on grass, anywhere, and it was next to impossible to
wake them. On July 4th the slaves of Mr. William Carter, about 150 of
them (he had 210 in all), came to the road — close down to Littlepage's
bridge — where the 13th were, procured boards, laid them in the road,
and sang and danced for a long time. They gave a better show than all
the ' Original Minstrel ' troops that ever traveled. The negroes took all
the horses, mules and carts, and followed our troops in retreat. Hun-
dreds of soldiers — on the return march — took off their shirts, (buttoning
their blouses close about them for decency's sake), washed them and
then slung them over their shoulders, or carried them as banners on
their bayonets, and so marched till the shirts were dry again and then
put them on. The troops looked more like animated bundles of dirty

1 This court mariial was held under a larg'e tree near the house ; and it is said that
Gen. Getty declared that if the rincfleaders in the damajjo to the house -were caught,
he would hang them all on that tree and leave them hanging there. — S. M. T.

1863 BLACKBERRY RAID. 185

rags than like anything else. Many marks of the battle of WilHamsbnrg
still remain. Major Grantman, of the Thirteenth, was present in that
battle, and was severely wounded there, and now graphically describes
the scene. We were absent on the raid for 23 days, and accomplished
— notliing, or about that. Yes, one thing is certain : that raid has added
2,500 patients to the different Hospitals in this department."

Prescott.

Capt. Smith is bitten or stung on his hand by some small creature
while on the return from this raid, and soon shows unmistakable signs
of severe poisoning, by the appearance of rapidly spreading blotches and
dark spots on his hand and arm. A search is made for whiskey, the best
antidote in such cases. After a while some is found which Lieut. Young
has -saved for an emergency. It is liberally administered, Capt. Smith
is placed on an ambulance, and recovers without serious Injury. But for
that hoarded flask of whiskey, he probably would have died. Moral :
The best use to make of whiskey is to save it — for a medical emergency.

A few days after the 13th left the Pines, Lieut. Durell with a Lieut,
of the 10th N. H. gathered a squad of volunteers from the 10th and 13th
to join their reginients. About half a dozen of the men were of the 13th.
On reaching White House a little previous to July 4th this party was not
allowed by the Provost Marshal to leave that point because of the rebel
guerillas, who would be quite sure to gobble the whole party before they
could reach their regiments at the front. The party therefore went
into camp, a little apart by themselves, and waited until the regiments
returned. While here Lucius Gilmore of the Quarter-master Department
of the 10th conceived the idea of obtaining some whiskey. Wearing
habitually a blouse with staff-officer's buttons and a tall felt hat, he now
assumed his best appearance, took his canteens and proceeded to the com-
missary's tent. Here the guard at once saluted him as a general officer,
and the man in charge of the tent without question filled his canteens
with whiskey, which Gilmore paid for with becoming dignity ; returning
at once to the camp of the party, he supplied the men without stint, and
to the unutterable bamboozlement of half of them.

July 14. Tues. Rainy. Reg. in camp in the Pines. Every man
in the 13th is foot-sore and much used up, by these long, rapid mid-sum-
mer marches, made when we were either scorched by the southern sun,
or stewing in the wet — and almost all the time plunging in the mud.
The showers rarely cool the atmosphere. All of Company E, excepting
two or three men, are sent on picket to-day ; all are more or less lame?
and the Reg. enjoys a hearty laugh as these unhappy men of E limp and
hobble out of camp.

July 15. Wed. Showery. A fearful thunder storm to-night — the
whole camp a glistening lake. Reg. in camp all day, and doing little or
nothing. Inspection of arms and knapsacks ; and of the latter there are
very few to inspect. Col. Corcoran's Irish Legion moved last night to
join the Army of the Potomac ; while we remain members of the 2d Div.
of the 7th Army Corps.

186 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

July 16. Thurs. Rainy. Reg. does no work. Dress-parade at
evening. Pay-rolls being made out to June 30th, for two months. Many
of the men will be obliged to pay for small articles needlessly lost while
on the raid. A court martial is organized to straighten out sundry un-
necessary irregularities wliich have occurred in these last three weeks.

July 17. Fri. Fair day ; a heavy rain at night. Reg. in camp
resting. A number of men have deserted from the 13th to the enemy
during the late march. We hojie they will be impressed into the rebel
service. Tents have to be thrown off the poles almost every day, to dry
the ground within. Tlie water we have to use we boil before drinking.
Some persons add vinegar to the water to kill the animalculse ; then
after the water is cool it is sweetened a little before it is used. The
water not only looks repulsive, but it tastes and smells bad ; a decoction
of surface filth.

July 18. Sat. Pleasant. Reg. in camp. A great deal of sickness
in the Thirteenth, and throughout the command ; a direct result of the
late raid. Almost every man in the 1 3th is more or less ' broken out '
with boils and sores, from overheated blood — some of it, possibly, very
bad blood. Capt. Normand Smith and ten officers of other regiments
appointed as a General Court Martial to meet at Portsmouth, Col. Dono-
hoe, President, and Lieut. J. D. Mahon, Judge Advocate.

July 19. Sun. Warm, rainy. Usual Sunday duties. Dress-parade
and religious services. The waste on the raid, in army supplies and
equipage, was scandalous — a heavy total. We have been ready and
waiting all day, to turn out, at a moment's notice, and receive Major
General Foster.

July 20. Mon. Rainy, hot. Reg. in camp. Reviewed by Maj.
Gen. John G. Foster, upon his taking command of this Department of
Virginia and North Carolina. Yesterday at 2 p. m. we were in line to
receive Gen. Foster, but he did not appear. This morning at 10 o'clock
we are in line again, and manoeuvre for two hours while waiting his arri-
Yal. Again we fall in at 3 p. m., and again exercise for about two hours,
when he appears. Gen. Foster is a Nashua man, and the men of the
Thirteenth stand at a ' Present-arms,' and with their colors at a ' Dip,'
for a very long time. The General notices it. and when he is saluted
enough, he passes the order for the men to bring their arms to the shoul-
der. One of those pretty mistakes that will happen any way. He highly
com])liments the 10th and 13th — and then makes them work hard to pay
for his approbation. " Gen. Foster was the first commander of the 18th
Army Corps." (History of the 44th Mass.)

Jioly 21. Tues. Very hot and showery. Reg. in camp. No one
busy but the members of the regimental court martial, trying cases grow-
ing out of the raid. A heavy thunder shower to-night continuing all
night and flooding the camp with water, which is several inches deep
under all the tents. The feud between the men of the 10th and 13th
N. H., never very serious, has altogether disappeared since the raid.

1863 CAMP BOWERS. 187

July 22. Wed. Fair. Reg. in camp. Sergeant James M. Hodg-
clon of B has been acting as Sergeant Major, and makes a very good one.

This land furnishes a little insect nuisance called the pine-tick. He
burrows quickly and deeply under the skin of man and beast, and is very
difficult to remove — can be picked out only in pieces. A drop of kero-
sene oil, however, placed upon him, when in the skin, causes him to with-
draw himself almost instanter. Everything in Virginia — even a rebel
picket — wants to get into a hole, either in whole or part ; this propen-
sity is universal. We hope to make tlie rebel army get into a very big
hole — and then pull the hole in after them.

July 23. Thurs. Rainy. Reg. in camp. Detail made for slash-
ing in the swamp — Captain Stoodley's valiant one hundred axemen. A
detail of three Lieutenants — Wilson, Staniels and Sawyer — three non-
commissioned officers and six 2)rivates (the writer has this from a sol-
dier's letter) also leaves camp for Concord, N. H., to bring forward recruits
for the Thirteenth. Adjt. Boutwell's wife arrives in camp.

July 24. Fri. Fine, but very warm. Reg. slashing. ' A change
in pasture makes calves fat ; ' but a change in commander makes soldiers
lean, as we are now learning to our cost. The hours of labor, and of all
other duties, are largely increased since the arrival of Gen. Foster.

July 25. Sat. Very warm, showers. Reg. slashing. The promoted
First Sergeants and tlieir Colonel not mutually happy because of sundry
due and delayed commissions. We lose our rights — and a hundred or
two dollars apiece besides.

July 26. Sun. Very hot. Inspection at 10 a. m., and Dress-pa-
rade at sunset. The hottest day any of us have ever seen. A thermome-
ter hanging up on the shady side of a little sapling four or six inches in
diameter indicates 108°. It is above 100° in the tents, and 126° in the
sunshine. Reg. again begins work on the fortifications to-day ; every
available man sent out, either chopping or shoveling. More than 1,500
men who went on the raid have been sent to hospital, sick.

The Thirteenth has one man who suffers from attacks of sleeping, and
cannot keep awake wlien under the spell of his peculiar malady. He has
been twice caught sleeping at his post while on guard. He cannot help
it. The meanest thing in the world is to find a man asleep at his post ;
the punishment for the offense Is very severe, and a desperate man would
sooner kill the man who finds him asleep, than run the risk of being shot
himself. It is best, therefore — and a sort of general order — to first
secure possession of the sleeper's gun, before rousing him.

July 27. Mon. Very hot forenoon, rainy afternoon and night. Reg.
out slashing only in the forenoon. Regimental Hospital moved across
the road to field north of camp, in pursuance of the Medical Director's
orders — the pine grove too close and damp for the sick.

A furious riot with cries of " Kill 'em all," " Murder," " Help — help,"
oaths, and the shrieks of a hundred or two of black women — the most
blood-curdling shriekers under the sun — suddenly breaks out upon the

188 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

quiet camp to-night ; the night pitchy dark and very rainy. A body of
teainstei's, encamped across the raihoad southward of our camp, invade
the contraband camp near by, and about twenty of them armed with axes
and revolvers are tiring and slashing right and left ; the whole gang mad
with drink. Wlien the disturbance first begins, Captains Julian, Stood-
ley and Forbush and a few other officers, who are gathered in one of
the officer's tents, spring up and hurry to the scene, some armed and
some not, and come near having a hand-to-hand conflict with the team-
sters before the guard arrives. Major Storer, officer of the day, orders
First Sergeant Thompson of E, who is officer of the regimental guard, to
proceed out of camp, with about a dozen men of his guard, and to quell
the riot ; Major Storer remaining in charge of the guard-house and head-
quarters meanwhile. Only seven men of the guard, however, can be
spared. As soon as this guard arrives upon the scene, the teamsters in-
stantly surround Sergeant George H. Van Duzee of E, who is also one
of the guard, and threaten him with instant death. He is only saved by
the quick orders of Thompson to his guard, to fire. The teamsters quit
rioting and haul off under the nmzzles of the guards' guns ; the purpose
of the guard being to scare rather than to kill. A few are arrested, some
slink away in the darkness, but the most of them retire to their huge
' Sibley ' style of tent, put out their lights, and threaten to shoot any one
who approaches. The guard, however, is at once drawn up in line in
front of the tent, their guns aimed, the muzzles almost touching the can-
vas, and the teamsters are called upon to surrender. Thompson's demand
is answered by a flood of vile scurrility from the tent. He then gives
slowly the order to the guard : " Ready — Aim — ; " the teamsters cave
in, the tent is entered, a candle lighted, and two men arrested who had
crawled under their bunks. The rest had ripped holes in the back side
of their tent, and made good their escape into the deep woods near by.
Before the riot was quelled, many of the negroes were badly hurt and
several killed, all shot down, or chopped down with axes. This errand
should not have fallen to the regimental guard, who on the whole consider
it a worse job than attacking rebel pickets at night.

July 28. Tues. Fair, very close and hot, a few showers in after-
noon. Reg. in camp, the most writing letters home. The mail leaves
camp at 6 a. m. regularly. The oixler now is to cut down every tree, for
a space one mile wide, in front of our works, clear across from river to
river, a distance of five miles. A large part of this space is densely
wooded. The 100 choppers from the 13th are hard at work on every
suitable day ; similar parties are furnished by every regiment along the
line, while sometimes the 13th in a body, and other entire regiments turn
out with axes for the work — five or six square miles of the Dismal
Swamp i-egion are thus being rapidly cleared of their dense forest of
vines, brush and timber.

July 29. Wed. Afternoon very rainy. Reg. in camp. No work
done. Brigade guard-mounting in the morning ; very well done. Dress-

1863 CAMP BOWERS. 189

parade at sundown, at which commissions are given out to sundry Second
Lieutenants all promoted from First Sergeants. The commissions dated
June 10th, 1863. The recipients mustered on July 29th or Aug. 5th,
having first received their discharges as First Sergeants. There was a
hitch in the niustering-in and several of them were for two or three days
out of the service altogether. The 1st Brigade of our Division leaves
camp this forenoon for Charleston, S. C.

The pines in our ' Pines Camp,' are in places dense and tall. The grove
has open ground on all sides. During the frequent thunder storms the
trees wave and bend, and threaten to snap short off in the heavy wind.
Their limbs break oft", fall and crush in the canvas roofs of our tents.
During the days their closely massed tops shut out the sun, and while af-
fording an agreeable shade, they prevent the evaporation of the water on
the ground, and the camp-ground remains soaked like a sponge, and glis-
tening with numerous pools. While fortunately no tree in our camp has
been struck by lightning, a cluster of oak-trees an eighth of a mile dis-
tant has been struck frequently this summer and some of the trees torn
to shreds. One of these thunder storms at night is fearful to witness.
The thunder roars, rattles, bellows, resounds and clangs on high con-
tinuously, as if the earth was a tremendous battery cannonading all the
planets at once. The rain falls in sheets, breaking and pouring in streams
from every pine limb ; the incessant flashes of vivid lightning are re-
flected from every rain sti*eam, every wet jjine bough, and from the sur-
face of the wide level camp area nearly covered and flooded with water ;
the guns of the men in their tents are charged with electricity and glow
from end to end ; the camp guards' guns and bayonets, similarly charged,
flash and glisten, and the guards tramp their beats with an incessant
splash, splash, like a line of lightning-rod holders, each inviting a hun-
dred strokes of lightning during every storm, while the roar near and far
continues without cessation hour after hour.

In the morning after such a night storm, the men and almost every-
thing in their tents are wet, in many cases thoroughly drenched, and the
tents must be thrown off the poles ; blankets and clothing are hanging
on lines all over camp to dry ; the water floods the camp, and lies from
three to six inches deep in and about all the tents : gradually it evapo-
rates in the hot air, while the whole camp is filled with evil smells, or else
the water runs off slowly into the deeper depressions in the ground, and
sinks away to form the ' surface water ' we must use for drinking and
cooking. No sooner is the camp dry, or half diy, than another furious
thunder storm causes the whole programme to be repeated — and so on,
and so on, without a rest. While therefore we keep an account of the
weather, it is because bad weather plays an ugly part in the experiences
of the soldier, whether in camp or field.

July 30. Thurs. Showery, more heavy thunder, Reg. slashing.
Insects flourish in this warm, danq) weather. The camp is pestered with
gnats, flies and mosquitoes in numberless swarms. The Surgeons have

190 THIRTEENTH JiEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

formally declared this camj) in the Pines extremely unhealthy, and that
the Keg. must move out ot" it, and farther away from the negro camp,
which threatens a pestilence. The 10th N. H. moves to Julian's Creek.

July 31. Fri. Fine day. Reg. slashing. Quarter-master Cheney
returns to camp. At 5.30 p. m. orders come for Conipanies B and D
to be ready to strike tents and march to-mcn-row at G a. m.

One dark and rainy night, near this time, the commissary guard in our
Brigade is relieved about ten minutes ahead of the regular time, but ap-
parently in the regular way, and the old relief returns to quarters, having
taken ' no note of time.' Ten minutes later the new relief of the regular
guard comes around on time, and relieves the relievers — and when the
morning dawns the commissary finds that he has been relieved, during
the night, of two barrels of whiskey ! Now there is a furious storm, that
breaks nowhere, and the commissary is advised to report the whiskey as
lost in action. It was a job very neatly done.

Aug. 1. Sat. Hot. Reg. in camp. Companies B, Capt. Dodge,
and D, Cajit. Farr, leave camp at 8 a. m. under command of Major
Storer, and march to Fort Tillinghast, about one mile southwest of our
camp. They are to garrison that Fort as heavy artillery and to drill all
winter. Our Brigade — 3d Brig. 2d Div. 7 th Army Corps — a few
batteries and a small force of cavalry, are all the troops now left on this
line. The Thirteenth has about a mile of line to watch and guard — and
half our men are sick. Col. W. H. P. Steere, 4th Rhode Island, com-
manding our Brigade.

Aug. 2. Sun. Awfully hot. One thermometer indicates 108° in
the shade. Usual Sunday duties. We should have been ordered South,
but the order was to send the two largest brigades in our Division. Our
3d Brigade was the smallest of the three by over 300 men, so the 1st and
2d Brigades were selected. Diphtheria is very prevalent in camp,
caused in great degree by the heat and the bad water we have to use.
We are to be transferred to the 18th Army Corps ; the 7th Army Corps
to be broken up.

Aug. 3. Mon. Hot ; 109° in the shade ! Reg. stewing in camp.
Boys, and young men, 16 to 25 years of age, endure the strain of this
army life here in the South much better than men of 35 years and up-
wards. The Union army averages a little under twenty-two years of age.

Short, thick-set men are more hardy here than the tall men — ' for the
purely military reason,' as the boys put it, ' that their forces are nearer
their base of sup])lies.' This Pines camp is a steam-box to-day.

Aug. 4. Tues. Hot. Reg. in camp. Paid off for May and June.
Little things, the parts of guns, or parts of equipments or clothing which
the men lose or destroy carelessly, or needlessly, are deducted, at stated
government prices, from their pay. Officers also have to pay cash for
unnecessary losses. It is the only possible way to prevent waste. The
pocket rules the world. A negro appears in camp swearing furiously,
and gets into trouble. It is a very rare thing to meet a grown-up negro

1863 CAMP BOWERS. 191

who uses much profane language ; and a much rarer thing to meet a
Southern white man who does not. Really the best part of the native
white population hereabout must now be in the rebel army !

Aug. 5. Wed. Hot and dry. Reg. in camp. Diphtheria very prev-
alent. It is a very strange disease. Many men who blistered their feet,
vi'hile marching on the Blackberry Raid, now have suppurating sores
where the blisters were, and very difficult to heal — these are free from
diphtheria. Many men have a finger or hand to nurse, where a mere
little scratch or bruise will not heal. Diphtheria is organic and whole-
sale unspeakably repulsive rot.

A corduroy road twenty feet wide — that is, made of heavy logs twenty
feet long laid side by side on stringers thrown ujion the surface .of the
morass — extends for near half a mile of the distance between Forts Rod-
man and Tillinghast ; first a strip of the very dense forest was leveled sixty
feet wide, and the brush and old timber of fallen trees were thrown into
the bog holes. This corduroy road cost the labor of one hundred men
working four and a half hours a day for over six weeks. The snakes
killed during tlie time were almost numberless. Disturbmg the soil and
rotting wood seemed to attract them.

Sundry First Sergeants are mustered in as Second Lieutenants. Every
one of the original Second Lieutenants and First Sergeants have received
promotion, and some of the First Lieutenants. There is nothing which
conduces so much to the honor, stability, efficiency and spirit of a Regi-
ment as the regular promotion of its members as vacancies occur, for
that plan alone pays honest dues.

Aug. 6. Thurs. Hot. Reg. slashing, and can work only for a few
hours a day. A number of men from the Thirteenth, and others, go
out of camji, and make a midnight raid on a lot of hidden theatrical cos-
tumes, and other things, and return to camp dressed in the most fantastic
fashions that their wit can invent. They departed on foot, they return on
mules. Each has a bundle, each has a different style of dress, while the
odd hats, bonnets and costumes generally make up a grotesque exhibition
indeed. One small mule, ridden by a large man in the costume of the
typical Uncle Sam, is dressed up in the fashion — rather pronounced —
of a woman of the 17th century, with huge poke-bonnet, bustle, dress,
train gathered and dragging at one side, two ^^airs of white pantalettes,
etc. — the head of the mule protruding forward through the division in
one pair of the pantalettes, and the tail back through the other pair. A
companion mule is gotten up in the costume of a man of the same period.
A poke-bonnet and pantalettes look best on a mule. Sergt. Charles F.
Chapman of E, and D. Webster Barnabee of K, a right merry jjair —
though the latter is sick — furnish a deal of amusement to a (ticketless)
audience of a thousand or two of men, who line the roadsides. The
' General commanding ' laughed at this most ridiculous cavalcade as
heartily as any private in the ranks. Fun is the spring of healtli.

Aug. 7. Fri. Hot. Reg. slashing. Quarter-master Cheney, hav-

192 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

ing resigned his commission, departs for home. Too bad. The climate
is too severe for liim. He has been sick for nearly seven months, and
was one of the last to break down under the effects of exposure and mala-
ria at Fredericksburg. He has taxed his resolution and strength to the
utmost to remain with the Thirteenth, and leaves us with profoundest re-
grets, and only under the pressure of absolute necessity. The members
of the Regiment all feel as badly as if parting with a personal friend —
as in fact they really are. No man of the Thirteenth has ever complained
of him as its Quarter-master ; and where the soldier does not grumble
the officer is popular indeed.

Quarter-master Person C. Cheney nearly recovers his health in civil life,
engages in the manufacture of paper and wood-jiaper pulp, and is gen-
erally understood to have been financially successful in his large and ex-
tended business enterprises ; he also rises to the position of Governor of
New Hampshire, and Senator in the Congress of the United States, be-
sides filling many minor official positions. It should be said, to the honor
of faithful woman, that Quarter-master Cheney owes his life to the de-
voted, almost superhuman efforts and care of his wife, seconded in every
possible way by Mrs. Col. A. F. Stevens, while he lay helpless in Hospi-
tal, and wasted by malarial fever and its attendant ills. She found him
at the point of death, and succeeded in saving him only as by a miracle.

Aug. 8. Sat. Very warm and close. No work done — too hot-
Dijjhtheria increasing in prevalence and becoming malignant in tyjje all
through the camp, and also among the native families hereabout.

A Lieutenant of Company E, as a special temperance treat for his new
straps, gathered a fine water-melon from the ' Government Farm ' last
night, at the innninent risk of a bullet from the guard, and this morning
calls in a few of his friends to share in the feast. The tent is tied close,
and the melon — a large one and a beauty — is produced from the cooler,
a hole in the ground under the tent; there is a flourish of knives, and
the choicest melon of the field falls open — greener than a summer pump-
kin ! 'Twixt smiles, regrets, and remarks, the melon finds permanent
quarters back in the cooler. It happens to be an old darkey's pet melon,
and he is early about camp hotly inquiring, " Who — who got dat ar
watennillium ? " The Lieutenant and all concerned are doubly sorry, but
can give him no information on the subject — that is, not safely. But the
old darkey feels so badly (and the harvester also), that he is supplied with
sundry rations, worth ten times more than the melon, and returns heavily
laden to his ebony Dinah.

Aug. 9. Sun. Hot; but cooler — the thermometer indicates only
100° in the shade. Usual Sunday duties. As the wind comes up from
the eastward we can smell the negro camp a mile away. They are in-
describably filthy ; and nothing but ages of civilization will teach them to
discard their vile habits. There are a host of them encamped between
our camp and Portsmouth, and near by.

Aug. 10. Mon. "Warm. Reg. slashing. Lieut. Saunders has com-

1863 CAMP BOWERS. 193

mand of the colored laborers. AVe have had no drill since April 10th.
A man of Company E, and one of another Company, are found sick to-
gether in one of Co. E's tents. Lieut. Thompson of E is sent to see what
is the matter with them. On opening the tent door the odor from within
is so vile that the Lieutenant cannot enter ; they are told to cover
themselves with their blankets, and he immediately throws the tent off the
poles. The Surgeon is sent for and pronounces their disease small-pox ;
— one already breaking out. Both j^rove bad cases. The Lieutenant
did not catch the disease, however — a narrow escape.

Aug. 11. Tues. Warm. Reg. slashing. A soldier of the 13th, try-
ing to describe the weather of the past week, puts it down as : " Hot,
awfully hot, terribly hot, hot as blazes — and several other ])laces — all-
fired hot ! " A negro religious meeting here at night is a curiosity ; gener-
ally half fetish and half crazy, utterly and irrepressibly niggerish. The
worshipers dance, sing, pray, exhort, yell, scream, shout ' Hallumlooyah,'
' Glory,' ' O — Lord,' and all that sort of thing, and all at once, and all
the time. The boys have dubbed these meetings ' solemncholys.' They
are much tempered with Voudooism pure and simple, as if direct from
Africa. Frequently in the meetings one, or more, of the woishipers loses
all control of himself or herself, and commences shouting : ' I'se got it ! '
' O, I'se got it ! ! ' and then falls to striking out right and left, slashing
about, jumping up and down, and screaming with might and main. They
act as if they had got it ! These fearful S2)asms of hysterics are a very
important find. The favored ones are usually soon caught and held by
three or four other negroes near by, so they may do no special harm to
themselves or to any one else, but they are allowed to ' spress demselfs'
as loudly and as forcibly as they please. This is all ' git'n glory,' and
having a ' pow'ful time — shuah ! ' To touch a person when thus ' under
der infloounce uv de spirit,' is regarded as sharing something with the for-
tunate possessor. If these Voudoo spasms fail to appear in any meeting,
the reason is given, that ' some fool nigger has brought a rabbit foot, to
scar 'way de Lord.' It is the same everywhere, the worst ignorance that
ever beclouded a people is religious ignorance. The ' Swamp nigger '
appears to be of a specially low and degraded class.

Aug. 12. Wed. Hot again. Reg. slashing. The whole force slash-
ing. Down comes the splendid forest. The owner, an old gentleman
and a rabid secessionist, who lives near by, looks sadly on ; but believes
the South will win, and then the ' North will have to pay for all the
damages of the war ! ' This helps him to bear the present waste. Happy
thought. Quarter-master Sergeant Mortier L. Morrison appointed Quar-
ter-master of the Thirteenth — an excellent choice.

Aug. 13. Thurs. Hot — very, thunder showers. Reg. slashing.
No white man can work all day. The nights, too, are nearly as hot as the
days. There has been a great deal of complaint about this camp in the
Pines — an old rebel camping ground, and very dirty when we came
here. There has been much sickness here, and several deaths from diph-

194 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHHIE REGLAIENT. 1863

theria, and when news conies to-day that we are to move to a new camp,
it is received with much rejoicing by both officers and men. One com-
pany in the Thirteenth, whose men were all apparently as well as usual in
the morning, had two men, both in one tent, dead at evening ; both dying
of diphtheria of a malignant form.

Aug. 14. Fri. Hot and dry. The Pines a hot-air box. The Reg.
goes out in a body to clear its new camp-ground, just across the road
northward, perhaps one eighth of a mile. A large patch of potatoes and
an acre or two of growing corn, all come up by the roots. Some of the
corn pulled up is twelve feet tall, the ears on it just fit for roasting. Every
eatable thing is carefully saved by the darkeys for their camp near by.
Lieut. Thompson of E has charge of the men and teams to-day in clear-
ing this new camping ground ; and Lieut. Forbush of the men who are
digging the ditches and grading the streets. The two equal parties com-
prise all the men In the Thirteenth who are able to work.

Aug. 15. Sat. Veiy warm. No slashing. In averaging expenses
to-day, it appears that in the line officers' messes, the cost of living is
about $4 per week ; and surely all live well. The want, that pinches
the most, is of ice, of which very little can be obtained.

Aug. 16. Sun. Very warm. Usual Sunday exercises. Numerous
boxes come to camp for the officers and men of the Regiment. Lieut. R.
R. Thompson of H, a civil engineer by profession, is detailed for service
as Lieutenant in the Engineer Corps. Hospital Steward Prescott makes
his first medical visit to the contraband camps this morning.

Aug. 17. Mon. Pleasant, cooler. Reg. at work on the new camp-
grounds. A furious wind storm blows down hundreds of tents and shan-
ties. All boxes sent here to officers and soldiers are opened and searched
at Norfolk, and all contraband articles are confiscated or destroyed. In-
toxicating liquors are the things chiefly under ban. This causes disappoint-
ment in camp and many emphatic comments. A Lieutenant in the 13th
sent to Boston and purchased a lot of liquors, at an expense of $45. A
part of the lot was three gallons of brandy at $8 per gallon. The Pro-
vost at Norfolk examined the shipment, confiscated the liquor as contra-
band, and this morning the Lieutenant opens an empty box ! The Pro-
vost kindly forwarded the box — which of course was not contraband.

Aug. 18. Tues. Cool, fine day. Reg. at work on new camp-
gi'ounds. Lieut. Klttredge leaves camp for a visit home.

Aug. 19. Wed. Pleasant. Reg. inspected by staff officer Capt.
Button. And now, for a change, we are in the 18th Army Corps. A
soldier is murdered by a comrade at Fort Rodman, by a bayonet stab in
the mouth. Neither are of the 13th.

Hospital Steward R. B. Prescott, on August 16th, was placed in charge
of the sick at the contraband camps ; one of them two miles distant from
the Tblrteenth containing about 200 able-bodied men employed on the
Government works, another nearer containing 300 or 400 able-bodied
men so employed, and both camps containing a host of old men, women

1863 CAMP BOWERS. 195

and children besides. He goes on his rounds to these camps at 9.30
a. m. every day- His ' horse ' is one o£ the three mules — ' the Doc's
mules * — captured at Hanover, on the Blackberry Eaid, and he is at
times utterly intractable and balky. His favorite method of worrying his
rider is to rush suddenly close past a fence or tree ; and when whipped,
to walk backwards rapidly, darting in every direction for a long time,
then halt and suddenly bolt ahead. A most exasperating mule.

CAMP GILMORE, GETTY'S STATION.

Aug. 20. Thurs. Pleasant, very. Reg. moves to new camp, on
which all of its available men have been employed for nearly four days,
removing growing crops and grading. This is by far the best camp we
have ever had, and is laid out strictly in accordance with the Army
Regulations and under the personal supervision of Gen. Getty, who has
himself located every camp along this line. " Reg. moved into the field
— a military necessity." LuEY.

Fort Rodman — the first earth-work west of Getty's Station, and dis-
tant from it and our old Pines camp about one half mile, see May 18,
1863, is located close to the south side of the railroad, where the old
Suffolk road and the railroad run nearly alongside of each other. The
fort is flanked on the left, south, side by a line of rifle-trenches running a
short distance to the swamp. The whole line facing westward. At the
swamp trenches could not be dug, and log breast- works were thrown up
instead. The position of the 13th in case of an attack was assigned, by
Gen. Naglee, at the junction of the rifle-trench and these log breast-
works — the most of the Reg. having the logs and tvro or three companies
only, on the right, having the breast-works of earth. On the right, north,
side the fort is flanked by rifle-trenches crossing the railroad and Suffolk
road and running to a little redoubt for two guns, about 125 yards dis-
tant. From near this redoubt, on the north side, a log stockade ran
northward to Brace's Creek. The gate of the stockade was 300 or 400
yards north of Ft. Rodman, and near where the new road now crosses
the line. A military road ran from north to south along in rear of the
stockade, rifle-trenches and Ft. Rodman. The general course of the line
of defenses is north and south facing westward, and the railroad and
Suffolk road run nearly east and west. Two hundred and fifty yards
east and in rear of Ft. Rodman a new road now runs from the old road
northwest to Suffolk. This new road leaves the old stockade gate a little
to the left of where it crosses the line of defenses. A guide-board at the
junction of these roads gives the distances as three miles to Portsmouth,
eighteen miles to Suffolk. Five hundred yards down the old road east
from Ft. Rodman, a lane with hedges now runs to the north about 400
yards to Mr. J. C. Taylor's house, built since the war upon the old maga-
zine cellar. This lane cuts through the site of Camp Gilmore, so as to
leave the ground of the two left companies of the Thirteenth to the east
of it, and the other eight companies to the west. The camp faced nearly

196 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 18G3

south, and was about 300 yards north of the road, and west of Mr.
Edward T. Bunting's house. " The camp of the Thirteenth," said Mr.
Bunting, " was about 100 yards west of my house, and their Hospital
stood at the same distance from the Suffolk road as my house, 50 yards
due west from it and almost exactly on a line with the quarters of the
field and staff officers."

Aug. 21. Fri. Very warm. Reg. at work on new camp. The
writer with a party of about half a dozen men recently rowed out to the
sunken rebel ram ' Merrimac' A little flag, on a pole stuck into a hole
in the roof, marks her position. The iron roof is about two feet under
water at low tide. She lies in the murky water, a huge, black, indistinct
mass, of which the form can scarcely be made out — an uncanny morgue.

Aug. 22. Sat. Very hot. Diphtheria increasing all through the
command. The forts near Suffolk dismantled, the railroad tracks torn
up for many miles, thousands of trees felled across the roads and railroad,
the country devastated, and troops of refugees, both black and white, are
pouring into our camp from the region well up towards Richmond.

Aug. 23. Sun. Very hot. Reg. all turned out to fell trees along

DESCRIPTION OF PLAT.

A. Road from Portsmouth to Suffolk, with branch K, built since the

war — the ' shell road.'

B. Railroad with Getty's Station platforms D, built since the war on

the Old Quay road C

E. Pines Camp, Thirteenth. The space between the railroad and road

is 250 yards — narrowed in plat.

F. Lane to Mr. Edward T. Bunting's house, about 300 yards from

road, with our regimental Hospital — I — fifty yards due west of
house. Next south of hospital was Lieut. Taggard's commissary
tent, next the theatre, next the sutler's tent near the road.

G. Camp Gilmore, Thirteenth, about 600 yards northeast of Ft.

Rodman.
H. Mr. J. C. Taylor's house, built since the war on the cellar of the

old magazine, about 400 yards from the road.
M. Marsh, an impassable slough though small, the mud very deep.
L. Stockade gate, fronting marsh M — a spur of the Dismal Swamp

— and leaving only a narrow roadway between.
N. Fort Rodman, enclosing about two acres and having platforms for

six guns, and a magazine near the entrance in the rear.
P. Position assigned the Thirteenth, behind the earth-works and log

breast-works, by Gen. Naglee on Sept. Gth, and always held

when we manned the works.
R. Military road along the works, and to Ft. Tillinghast — ' Fort Till.'
S. Position of Col. Steere's Hdqrs. pointed out by a citizen as at 50

yards east of the eastern platform, D, as it now stands.

CAMP BOWERS AND CAMP GILMORE.
Getty's Station, 1863-4.

From a sketch made by the writer in May 1885.

1863 CAMP GILMORE. 199

the railroad near our camp — the enemy threatening again. The world
goes wrong all the time in the region of Bowers Hill four or five miles
west ; the guards up there are always in trouhle, always calling for help,
and every few days a force is rushed from our lines here, at a furious
speed, for Bowers Hill, to do nothing at all when they get there. One
picket post of the 13th at Bowers Hill is at David's mill, a tide-mill, on
the creek near Suffolk road. A large body of Union cavalry moves past
our camp towards the front.

Aug. 24. Mon. Rainy. Reg. in camp. The dust on all bare and
tramped over ground has been at least three inches deep for the last two
weeks ; rising in cjouds with every breeze — enough to choke a horse.

There are teasing boys in all camps. The north-country men — from
the upper part of the State — are fond of jokes that will set the south-
country men to some disadvantage. The sparring and banter goes on all
the time. For one instance : Whenever it is possible to use the name,
Nashua is spelled ' Gnash-away,' and in return, Coos appears as ' Coose.*

The men of Company H on Aug. 8th presented to Lieut. R. R.
Thompson of H a sword, sash and belt as a testimonial of their esteem.
The same thing has been done in whole or part by each Company whose
First Sergeant has recently been promoted to Second Lieutenant, except-
ing in the case of Lieut. S. Millett Thompson of E. The money to pur-
chase a similar present for him had been nearly all raised and pledged,
but as soon as he learned of it, he stated his preference to purchase for
himself, and the money went back to the kindly contributors. Besides,
when his brother, John Ed. Thompson, Adjutant 20th Illinois Infantry,
was killed at Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., April 6, 1862, and his sword
was sent home, he vowed he would wear it in this war — and is now
doing so.

After a few months he purchased for himself a sword with steel scab-
bard, at Norfolk, and sent his brother's sword home again.

Aug. 25. Tues. Rainy. Reg. in camp. In spite of all precau-
tions a regular mail passes from Norfolk to the rebel army, and our pro-
vost-guard lines are being drawn more strictly, all around city and camp.
A heavy wind in the afternoon, striking suddenly during a severe shower,
blows down the guard tent of the 13th, and does a great deal of damage
throughout the camp.

Aug. 26. Wed. Fair. Reg. in camp. Capt. Forbush's wife ar-
rives in camp. Officers at work on Pay-rolls for July and August. Awn-
ings of green brush are being put up in front of tents for shade — not a
tree in camp. Charles A. Ames, of G promoted to Quarter-master Ser-
geant ; a most excellent appointment.

Aug. 27. Thurs. Rainy. Reg. in camp all day. Lieut. Young,
Lieut. Murray and many of the men are sick at Balfour Hospital, Ports-
mouth. Weather cooler, the nights very chilly. Salutes being fired to-
day all up and down our lines. The men of B and D at Fort Tillinghast
find many friends in the 8th Conn, encamped within half a mile of that

200 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

fort. There are now some nine or ten forts here in line, between the
east and west branches of the river, all well armed and manned.

Aug. 28. Fri. Pleasant. Reg. slashing again. A native remarks
to-day, and it is a common sentiment among the people hereabout : " As
for your Northern copperheads, we, of course, like to have their sympa-
thy — but the sympathy of cowards does not amount to much." A raid
is expected from the enemy, extra pickets are sent out, and there is a
little fever of excitement — good for our blood.

Aug. 29. Sat. Heavy showers. Reg. out slashing ; caught in the
rain, and all are drenched. Two men die of diphtheria. Camp hospitals
being cleared of the very sick, all of whom are sent to Balfour Hospital,
Portsmouth. Gen. Spear's cavalry has been out to find the enemy's
raiders — but they had all withdrawn. A darkey says : '' Reck'n he
done got mad, 'un goned off ! "

Aug. 30. Sun. Cooler. Company inspections, and nothing more.
Fort Tillinghast, which Companies B and D are garrisoning, receives
some new guns — three 18-pounders and three 12-pounders. Every
available man in the Reg. is at work on the entrenchments and digging
rifle-pits on all week days, excepting during heavy storms.

Aug. 31. Mon. Drizzling, cold rain. Reg. mustered for two
months' pay at 7 p. m. by Col. A. F. Stevens. Mrs. Col. Stevens is mak-
ing a collection of Dismal Swamp butterflies and other insects and curios-
ities, and the men of the Regiment, at work deep in the swamp, gladly
send into camp many specimens for her collection. She is exceedingly
popular in the Thirteenth ; and — we say it without disparaging her
husband in any degree — she can have the Colonelcy at any time by
unanimous vote of the Regiment.

Sept. 1. Tues. Cold, stormy. Reg. at work on rifle-pits, and build-
ing a lieavy log breast-work along the military road, running southward
from camp through the swamp, where the Reg. has been slashing. The
soil of the swamp cannot be made use of, hence the logs. The swamp
stratum is one compact inextricable mass of tangled roots, rotting sticks
and logs — peat in process of formation — from two to twenty feet deep.
There is so much combustible stuff here above ground on the part of the
line held by the 13th, that the enemy can quickly drive us out merely by
lighting a fire.

First Sergeant Edwin A. Tilton, of K, promoted to Second Lieutenant
in the Invalid Corps. He is ordered to report for duty to Col. Oscar A.
Mack, U. S. A., at Concord, N. H., where he is appointed Post Adju-
tant. He also serves as Department Quarter-master, Ordnance Officer,
and Recruiting Officer ; commander of the Provost-guard of a detach-
ment of recruits, and of the 168th Company Veteran Reserve Corps.
He was subsequently attached to Company G., 11th V. R. C, and as-
signed to duty at Head-quarters, in Albany, N. Y.

Sept. 2. Wed. Reg. slashing. A large detail at work on rifle-pits.
The Officers of the Reg. have purchased and received a library of about

1863 CAMP GILMORE. 201

100 volumes — chiefly novels of the better sort. Surgeon Richardson
detailed for duty at Brigade Hdqrs.

Sept. 3. Thurs. Very warm. Reg. at work all day on rifle-pits
and breast-woi"ks. Sundays excepted, nine hours' woi-k are done every
day — from 7 a. m. to 12 noon, and from 2 to 6 p. m. The whole
force are engaged on the works, and all as busy as beavers. Officers of
every grade, from Brigadier down, are overseeing the work, and many of
them take a tui'n at the axe or shovel.

Sept. 4. Fri. Fair. Whole Reg. at work on the defenses, and
driving the work as rapidly as jjossible.

He was of the no name series — or for convenience' sake he had too
many names. A big, slouching, sullen, morose, slovenly old ' Stony
Lonesome,' as the boys called liim, and regarded as the meanest man in
the Thirteenth Regiment. He robbed several men in our Brigade. He
tried to kill a tent mate who exposed his crimes. He was caught in the
night, attempting to pull the shoes and stockings off the feet of a dead
man of the 13th, laid out for burial. He was brought out, after convic-
tion of several crimes — one of them was robbing our wounded men at
Fredericksburg — the contents of his knapsack dumped upon the ground,
and a small bundle of necessary articles made and given him, and a blan-
ket ; all the rest were buried, for they were extremely filthy. Rations
were given him. His buttons (U. S. military buttons) were all cut off,
and his clothing tied on him with coarse strings, the ends dangling ; and
he was then drummed through the camp, and out of it, to the tune of ' The
Rogue's March,' disappearing forever, so far as we wei;e concerned, in
the distance, amid the hoots, jeers, and yells of a thousand or two of men.
A dead beat, sham, bummer, and beastly criminal.

Sept. 5. Sat. Very warm. Reg. assigned position in the defenses
in case of an attack. The enemy reported advancing in force on our
lines. Everybody on the qui vive. The Thirteenth is now in excellent
fighting condition, and a sharp fight would be quite accejitable.

Sept. 6. Sun. Very warm. Inspection, or review, or drill, or all
together — or what .'' by Gen. Naglee and staff at 10 a. m. ; and a more
formal affair at 12 noon, in the rifle-pits and log breast-works tlirown up
by the Regiment. A sham preparation for a real fight, with many ver-
bal instructions how to do it — the whole Regiment lectured indiscrimi-
nately like an omnibus class by a school visitor. The position assigned to
the 13th in the defenses, is to the south of the Seaboard and Roanoke
Railroad, a little to the left of Ft. Rodman, at the edge of the swamp,
where the line of earth-work trenches ceases and the log breast-works com-
mence. The most of the Regiment have the logs, on low, wet ground, a
bad piece of line, a few right companies only have the earth-works to pro-
tect them in case of an attack.

Sept. 7. Mon. Very warm, rainy in afternoon ; Reg. slashing in
forenoon. The camp full of rumors about an expected attack. Lieut.
Saunders has over 500 negroes under his charge, at work upon the forti-

202 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHHIE REGIMENT. 18G3

fications. A drunken private staggering along on the railroad past the
contraband camj) excuses his gait by saying : " Million niggers make it
so dark — real shober man like me car'nt walk straight (liic), ' thout a
lantern in each hand and a head-light on his breast-shtumach — (hie)
when the sun shines."

Sept. 8. Tues. Very warm, a thunder storm. Reg. slashing all
day, and suffering much from the heat. The 8th Conn, has been increased
by about 200 substitutes and conscripts — a bad lot. Many of them
aire in mischief as soon as they arrive in camp. The common term for all
comers, not regular volunteers is, for short, "Subs." "Detail of 48 men
from the 13th escorts conscripts (from Connecticut) from Portsmouth to
camp." LuEY.

Sept. 9. Wed. Very hot. Reg. at work — so much as we can.
Five deserters come in from the region about Suffolk. They say they
are members of the Louisiana Zouaves ; that they enlisted at the com-
mencement of the war, and that their regiment is now reduced to only
nine men of the original organization.

" A man went out of camp of an errand. He returned at night, and
throwing down a canvas bag upon my tent floor, went his way without
saying a word. Examination revealed a thirty-pound pig. Another man
disappeared at early evening, and returned with a jteck of new potatoes,
combined result : several good dinners. The picket was ordered to al-
low no one ingress or egress. A hog and two nice pigs appeared to take
egress ; the hog passed the line — the })igs did not. Result : dinners as
before." (Item from a Thirteenth officer's letter.)

Sept. 10. Thurs. Cool, cloudy. Reg. slashing all day. Lieut.
Thompson of P^ and twelve men are sent to-day, for a sojourn of a week,
up in the Dismal Swamp at the 9th mile-post from Portsmouth on the
Seaboard and Roanoke Raili'oad. Here a small area of the forest is
felled, and the trees left lying every way. Details from the 13tli guard
this outpost continually, seconded by a small detachment of cavalry ve-
dettes from Dodge's Mounted Rifles — commonly but most unfairly called
" The mounted robbers." These men are frequently, if not generally,
armed with a sabre, a repeating rifle and two navy revolvers.

To-night the ' rebels ' attempt to surprise this post. It is pitchy dark,
and one of them comes creejiing along on all fours, apparently bent on
capturing Warren S. French of E. French is safely ensconced behind a
stump and waits the rebel's near ai)proach, determined to give him the
bayonet. As soon as the rebel comes near enough, French springs for-
ward and gives him a lunge with his bayonet, when the rebel fetches a
most uneartldy yelp, and skittles off like a shot — a little black bear !
Both lie and French are about equally surprised. The incident serves to
l)ring the watchful guard all up standing. French's jiosition was at some
distance, and it was reasonable to suppose that some one was trying to
get near enough to kill or stun him by a blow, and make too little noise
to rouse the rest of the pickets.

1863 CAMP GILMORE. 203

The most hideous sound we hear in the Dismal Swamp, and about the
worst in point of unutterable viciousness any man ever heard, is saiil to
j^roceed from a harmless animal called the North Carolina coon — an in-
describable screech as if of mingled torture, scorn and defiance. Once
heard, however, it occasions little further notice.

Sept. 11. Fri. Cool, pleasant. Reg. slashing all day. Several more
deserters come into our lines claiming to have been members of the regi-
ment of Louisiana Zouaves. The natives of the Dismal Swamp assert
that the animals here — bears, coons, wild dogs, opossums, wild pigs,
deer and jack-rabbits — all turn out to eat at flood tide ! These same log-
cabined natives, tar-makei's, negro-hunters, and poor white trash generally,
do not appear as if they ever eat at all ; a poor, ragged, patched, faded,
sallow, slouchy, lean, lank, dark-eyed, snake-eyed race of vagabonds,
more like gypsies than any other people. They look treachery and cut-
throat. The term ' poor whites ' designates a class who do not own slaves
but appear to have a little land and some local standing in the community ;
while the ' poor white trash ' are a class having neither slaves, land, stand-
ing or anything else scarcely worth having. Many of these on being
asked who their ancestors were, reply : " They war sent over — er'ekn."
That means of course that they descended from men who had been de-
ported by England to the colonies, with no credit to either.

Sept. 12. Sat. Clear, very warm. Regimental court martial meets
— austere, profound, majestic tribunal! Later on this (sometimes) farci-
cal court is succeeded by a Trial Justice. We must not fail to mention
the barrel-coat, which unhandy and sinful men are occasionally sentenced
to wear and march in for two or four hours. One head of a barrel is re-
moved, a hole large enough for the culprit's cranium to protrude through
is cut in the other head ; the remainder of this head rests upon his slioul-
ders, as the barrel is raised and brought down over him. While wearing
the barrel-coat the culprit's head rises above the top head of the barrel
like a small knob on the top of a huge gate-post, and if the man is short,
liis legs look queerly enough paddling along beneath, with very short
steps. With a few of these well-clad men walking about, and as many
more sitting astraddle on a long pole raised ten feet or so above the
ground, and called the ' guardhouse mule,' each labeled with his special
misdemeanor — many regiments advertise the material they are made of.
Their choice refrain is : " O why did I go for a military man ? "

Capt. Julian and Lieut. Carter learned from many evidences that some
one was smuggling whiskey through the Bowers Hill picket line, and also
supplying the men on the line. They suspected a woman living near,
and whose name we will call Jennie Reb. She soon unwisely sold some
whiskey to two officers of the picket, and this stood in proof of her having
it in possession. One day she passed the line with her wagon to town,
and upon her usual permit, while a negro girl of hers passed the line at
another point, joining her mistress later on. Upon Jennie Reb's return
to her home in her wagon, Capt. Julian arrested her, and while doing so

204 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

accused lier of having canteens secreted in her clothing. There was no
woman about to make an examination, so she was led to her house — the
canteens banging about her legs as she walked, and the men of the picket
running near to see the fun. She was at once placed in a room by her-
self alone, a sort of loft, and was ordered to pass out those canteens, while
Capt. Julian and others stood outside waiting. There was now no possi-
ble escape for her, and presently she began to pass out canteens through
the slightly opened door ; and soon Capt. Julian had a string of sixteen
canteens, which she had managed to fasten and carry upon her person,
and all of them brimming fuU of the best brand of whiskey. As a final
result she was fined $75, and imprisoned for six weeks.

Sept. 13. Sun. Rainy afternoon. Col. Steere, 4th R. I., buries
his little daughter, seven years old, here to-day. She died of diphtheria
here in camp. Of the thirty line officers, eleven are jsresent for duty ;
of the eight field and staff, four are present for duty ; the rest of the
officers are sick or detached.

Inspection, at 9 a. m., by Capt. Julian, of each Company in its own
street. Arms pronounced in bad condition, by the Inspector, the whole
Regiment thoroughly angry, and ' camp language ' comes to the front —
a language more emphatic than elegant. We are a happy regimental
family for one rainy Sunday, and the inspection is to be repeated. In
the pressure of work, arms, clothing and equipments have been too much
neglected. The Inspector finds grievous fault to the Colonel, and he goes
for his staff with severity ; they pitch into the Captains ; they scold the
Lieutenants ; they blaze away at the First Sergeants ; they harrow up
the feelings of the Sergeants of squads ; they bury the Corporals in
billingsgate ; they come down unmercifully upon the Privates ; and they
with no human object under them upon whom to pour their wrath, kick
the first cracker-box or barrel they come to, clear across the camp, rip
their shoes, break their toes — and then sit down on a stump and curse
the niggers for bringing on this war !

Sept. 14. Mon. Clear. Company inspection forenoon ; regimental
inspection afternoon. Last Sunday's inspection not satisfactory and had
to be repeated. Capt. Julian, Acting Assistant Inspector General on the
Brigade staff is exceedingly particular ; the ramrods must ring clear in
the clean gun-barrels and all the brasses shine. To-day he goes over to
inspect Companies B and D at Fort Tillinghast.

Sept. 15. Tues. Fair. A fine looking gentleman visits our outpost
at the 9th mile-stone on the S. & R. Railroad in the swamp, plays check-
ers and cards with the reserve nearly all day, enjoys a good dinner, and
makes himself agreeable. He knows little or nothing about the war, or
about either army, pretends to be a native of the swamp, but his speech
denies it ; and finally he takes a walk down along the railroad to Gen.
Getty's Hdqrs., in charge of one of Dodge's mounted riflemen, marching
ahead of the rifleman's horse, and covered by the rifleman's revolver.
His woful ignorance is too suspicious. After examination as a spy, he
was detained for a while, and then allowed to depart.

1863 CAMP GILMORE. 205

This swamp may indeed be called Dismal in the early part of the
night. Thousands of frogs, owls, wild dogs, tame cats run wild, wild
cats, coons, bears, and innumerable animals, birds and creatures of every
voice, small and large, pipe, trill, boom, bark, howl, growl, caterwaul, yell
and scream, until the vile medley grows unendurable ; and then atop of all
the vocal din, the trees, leaning every way and against each other, when
the wind blows will creak, and groan, and grate, and rub, and rustle, till
your nerves go mad.

It is an hour or two past midnight, and exceeding dark and cloudy.
We arrested to-day and sent to lidqrs. one suspicious visitor to our out-
post; a genuine native of the swamp has also been sent in under guard.
At intervals since sundown the rebels have been sending up numerous
rocket-signals seen above the trees. Lieut. Thompson of E, in charge of
the outpost, does not dare to go to sleep ; his trusty right-hand man is
Sergt. John P. Haines of C, and both keep awake the entire night.
Our cavalry vedettes have reported rebel guerilla parties a short dis-
tance to the front. We are five miles from the main line at Getty's
Station, in the dense forest of the swamp, and realize that we cannot be
too careful and w^ary. The guard has just changed reliefs, the animals
of the swamp are neai-ly all silent, and all about is quite still. A sentry
is a little way up the railroad from the hut which is used as a Hdqrs.,
another is a little way down the railroad, and two others are among the
timber on the side of us towards Suffolk. Suddenly, a few rods to the
north of the railroad, a twig is heard to snai?. Then all is still. Then
the dry leaves on a sapling are heai'd to rustle, and another snap, and
then all is still for a long time. Men are surely lurking about the out-
post. The first snap was heard by all the sentries, and all the relief who
were awake. The sentries drop on one knee in the brush to be out of
sight, and in order to see any ajjproaching person against the sky. Af-
ter a little time Sergt. Haines and another man are sent out to recon-
noitre, and they noiselessly penetrate the timber three or four rods, and
drop on the knee behind a well known log. They have been there but a
few minutes when two shadowy heads pass a few feet to the front of
them and between them and the patch of sky they can see ; for it is too
dark to see any one passing a rod distant, against the black back-ground
of the forest. Haines and his man cock their pieces, and are aiming to
fire — for they think these two are part of an approaching squad of
guerillas and in such case it would be right to fire, — when Lieut.
Thompson, hearing the clicks of their gun-locks, shouts : " Hold ! " The
two intruders surrender, and come in, each with a bayonet and loaded
musket at his back ; and prove to be two Union scouts, cleverly disguised
as rebels and armed to the teeth, who, having no countersign, were trying
to steal, unperceived, through our lines.

That word ' Hold ' saved the two men's lives, and possibly rousing half
the camp ; for two shots heard in the swamp at night might herald an
attack, and would be investigated instanter. It was a nervous little inci-

206 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

dent, and we note it only as an actual occurrence illustrating the thou-
sands of similar, and worse, incidents common to the extreme outposts of
an army. Both Sergeant Haines and his companion (name not remem-
bered) were very quick, determined and courageous men, and no one
would have found it safe to come prowling around an outpost they were
guarding, or attempting to steal past their sentry post. These men are
disarmed, and as a measure of surety sent under guard into camp. They
tried at first to pass as men out of camp without leave on a foraging
expedition, but later gave their true errand.

Sept. 16. Wed. Very hot, showery. Reg. slashing all day. Gov.
Andrew of Mass., Gov. Morton of Indiana, Generals Foster, Naglee, and
Getty, and a large staff and cavalry escort, ride through camp just at
night. An informal visit.

While contemi:)lating the Dismal Swamp in one feature, just imagine
yourself walking in a path, and meeting a snake at every few rods, cop-
perheads, moccasins, greens, water-blacks, etc. ; with now and then a
tawny half-wild dog, which lies in the path, growling as you approach,
and will not move for you until you charge upon him with a cudgel,
sword or gun ; or a large wild pig or two — no matter how long or talL
never over six inches thick — which turn aside and hurry away looking
by no means amiable ; jiossibly a jack-rabbit, all legs and ears, crosses
your path like a shot, or a little reddish black bear snuffs at you once or
twice at a safe distance, and then skittles off into the brush. Then
imagine all around you for many miles a forest of large trees with tops
densely interlacing ; mingle with them liberally small trees and under-
brush, fill every space with cane-brake — a stiff grass with stalks as large
as your fingers and ten feet tall — then twist, and tie, and tangle thorny
brambles, and vines of a dozen kinds, over and through all up to thirty
or fifty feet in the air ; put on the luxuriant twigs and branches mosqui-
toes, spiders, caterpillars and huge worms grown to a hundred fantastic
shapes, sizes and colors ; and still you will not compass half the inter-
esting things to be seen here in mid-summer. Take an axe or hatchet,
and slash your best, and there are places where you will be able to cut
a straight foot-path for yourself but a few rods in all day. Thex'e are
hundreds of low, little islets, divided by an intricate maze of water-
course, pool and bog ; in the wet season the swamp is penetrable only
upon floating logs and fallen trees, and in the dry season many of the
depressed areas are a vast carpet of tall, dense luxuriant moss.

Sept. 17. Thurs. Fair. Reg. slashing in the forenoon ; in camp
in the afternoon. Pay-rolls being made and signed. Regimental Hos-
pital moved over to our new camp-ground. Salutes being fired all along
the lines in honor of Gov. Andrew of Mass., who is cheered to the echo
wherever he goes. A magnificent man in most respects. As if to point
the sharpest possible contrast to his grand, high patriotism, the execu-
tion of a deserter occurs during his visit to this Department — not wit-
nessed, however, by him.

1863 CAMP GILMORE. 207

Sept. 18. Pri. Very rainy. Reg. in camp all day, — dull, nothing
doing-. At P^t. Tillinghast Companies B and D drill with artillery from
7 to 8 a. m. ; chop or shovel from 8 to 12 noon ; fire in artillery practice
from 12 to 1 p. m., then have dinner ; again chop or shovel from 2 to
5 p. m. Drill again from 5 to 6 p. m. This is working very hard. To-
day is followed by a cold, rainy, windy night — almost a gale.

Sept. 19. Sat. Very severe rain storm for the past twenty-four
hours. Reg. in camp. Half a dozen of us have to tramp to Portsmouth
and back — six or eight miles — in a furious rain storm, to attend as wit-
nesses upon a court martial convened there. We have to walk on the
railroad, the highroad a mass of mud — an abominable tramp.

Sept. 20. Sun. Very cool. Rain ceases — followed by a high
wind. Tents go down all over camp. One member of the 13tli writes :
" We live well here now ; a part of the time on our expectations of what
we will have next week, and the rest of the time on sweet potatoes and
cold watei-." Another writes: "Breakfast — baked beans, bread and
coffee. Dinner — boiled fresh beef, salt beef, cold beans, bread, coffee.
Supper — tea or coffee, cold meat, bread. To-morrow we shall have the
same — only have it a little differently."

Sept. 21. Mon. Fair, cold. Reg. at Avork on the defenses in the
forenoon ; a part of the Reg. paid off in the afternoon. Lieut. Wilson,
Lieut. Staniels, Sergt. Wheeler and others, arrive in camp with 166 re-
cruits — " Subs " — for the 10th N. H.

Sept. 22. Tues. Very cold. Balance of the Reg. paid off in the
forenoon ; all at work with axes in th3 afternoon.

Sept. 23. Wed. Cool. Reg. slashing all day. Capt. Julian of
E is acting Asst. Inspector General of our Brigade ; Lieut. Durell acting
Adjutant of the Thirteenth ; Lieut. Murray is at Brigade Headquarters ;
and Lieut. Thompson in command of Company E. Lieut. W^ilson and his
guard start for New Hampshire again to-day, to bring forward recruits.

Sept. 24. Thurs. Very cool. Reg. slashing all day. The weather
has been very chilling for a week past. Whiskey rations are being served
daily to some of our men who are the most exposed to the cold. Strong
hot coffee is better.

Sept. 25. Fri. Fair. Reg. slashing all day. The 16th Conn,
(said to be) has a fancy custom of striking the " Taps " — the last drum-
call of the day, signifying that lights must be put out in the men's quar-
ters. After the little drums have rattled out their Taps, in all the regi-
ments hereabout, there rolls down through camp the tremendous " Bum
— bum — bum of that big bass-drum."

Sept. 26. Sat. Cold. Reg. slashing all day — working nine hours
a day. One of the most amusing scenes — at the same time one of the
most pitiable — that we ever witnessed, is the coming in of bodies of negro
refugees, at our stockade gate. They will appear in the edge of the brush
half a mile or so distant, looking back over their shoulders as if expecting
pursuit and recapture even there, and vithin our picket lines. They will

208 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

also approach the gate with the utmost caution ; hnt once inside, away
go their bundles, and all fear and caution at the same time, while they
improvise a little jubilee, jumping up and down, and exclaiming : " O
bress de Lord — I'se free, Ise free ! " Some parties of them just
emerged from the brush, in full sight of the gate and perfectly safe, will
be seized with a sudden panic, drop their bundles, leave their little chil-
dren behind, and make a simultaneous rush for the gate, giving every ex-
pression of the utmost fear, and running as if Satan himself was at their
heels. It is often difficult to induce them to return for their bundles or
children without being accompanied by a soldier with his gun.

Sept. 27. Sun. Pleasant. Usual Sunday duties. A Dismal
Swamp native, having been asked to give information concerning another
native suspected of rebel mail carrying, replies : " He be'nt thar ; right
smart chance shet o' that "ar place, er'ekn."

Sept. 28. Mon. Pleasant. Reg. slashing all day. Dr. Ezekiel
Morrill reports for duty as Asst. Surgeon of the Thirteenth. Dr. Morrill's
popularity was always great, and his excellent services in the Reg. were
always a matter of much credit to himself, and of especial advantage to
the personnel of the Thirteenth.

Sept. 29. Tues. Pleasant. Reg. slashing all day.

The rule to joke when you please, provided that you please when you
joke, is a very good one. The following toast, drank at a convivial gather-
ing of officers not long since, was not gauged by that rule : '■ Here 's to

your courage, and very good health, . Here 's hoping that you

will go in next time like a man. If you survive, all right. If you are
wounded, we will see that your limbs are pi'omptly and neatly cut off ; and
if you are killed, w^e will bury you well and deep." The toast was re-
ceived by the whole party with the silence that was golden, but with
minds that were busy ; the laugh came in later — when there w-ere not
so many round.

Sept. 30. Wed. Pleasant. Reg. slashing all day. Mrs. A. F.
Stevens, Mrs. C. O. Bradley, Mrs. E. E. Dodge and Mrs G. A. Forbush,
wives of officers of the 13th noAv visiting in camp, have all been ill from
malarial causes. No Northern person escapes malaria here. It is sure to
visit one sooner or later in some form ; and it has as many open or sly
ways of attack as Col. Mosby's guerillas, and all as relentless. Officers'
log-houses are now being built. They are all of one story, are about
twelve feet by eighteen feet on the ground, and have small glass windows
and roomy brick fireplaces. Some of them look oddly enough, with their
long, narrow, horizontal windows, made of Mr. Bunting's hot-bed sash
loaned or sold for the jjurpose.

Oct. 1. Thurs. Pleasant. Reg. at work on rifle-pits, and the main
line of entrenchments, and much hurried. Capt. Smith departs from
camp on fifteen days' leave.

Oct. 2. Fri. Rainy forenoon. Reg. at work on the defenses in
the afternoon. Picks and shovels in great demand. The supply of these

1863 CAMP GILMORE. 209

tools is short, and a special search is made for hidden or misplaced ones,
all through the tents of the men. None are found secreted by the Thir-
teenth. Members of a neighboring regiment, growing tired, are said to
have buried several hundred shovels, axes and picks.

Oct. 3. Sat. Pleasant. Reg. slashes all day ; and then is called
out late in the afternoon for a long, close special inspection followed by a
Dress-parade.

Oct. 4. Sun. Pleasant. A jmrt of the Reg., about one hundred
men, sent on picket to Bowers Hill. One hundred and eighty-one recruits
arrive for the Thirteenth this afternoon. Only one drafted man in the
whole party. They ap])ear to be the ' tag, rag, bob-tail and siftings ' of all
creation ; now and then a good man, generally bad. They come for
money — and some of them, we trust, will get their money's worth. No
auction sale of a bankrupt stock ever palmed off such a lot of goods as
some of these ; many of them seem scarcely worth their ticket of leave
in powder and ball. The Companies receive them to equalize numbers
present ; Company E gets twenty, Comjjany B eight, and so on through
the Regiment. The 10th N. H. receives 169 recruits of the lot that ar-
rives to-day. They were all escorted together, from the wharf at Ports-
mouth to camp, by an armed guard with loaded rifles ; and as a precaution
the camp guard is largely increased, in both the Tenth and Thirteenth.

" Conscripts to the number of one hundred and eighty-one arrived to-
day, and are distributed so as to bring every company up to eighty-five
men, so that we now number eight hundred and fifty enlisted men present
and absent. The new-comers are to be treated in all respects exactly the
same as the volunteers in the Regiment. Only eleven of those coming
to-day are natives of New Hampshire ; the others are from almost every
nation on the globe." Capt. Julian.

Oct. 5. Mon. Veiy pleasant. Log-houses going up all over the
plain — hundreds of them — winter quarters. Last night the Subs were
exceedingly boisterous, and half the Reg. were needed to keep them in
camp, and to preserve the peace. The line officers remonstrate with Col.
Stevens against the using of old soldiers to guard the Subs, in addition to
all their regular duties ; and those Subs who will not behave take up
quarters in the guard-house. The 13th N. Y. Heavy Artillery arrived
here yesterday, and are encamped about one fourth of a mile north of our
camp. They have among their men fourteen Seneca Indians. One of
their men (white) is a giant above seven feet tall. He is employed in
mounting cannon and other heavy work. Nine tenths of his regiment
can walk erect under his outstretched arms.

Oct. 6. Tues. Pleasant. Reg. in camp. The roofs of our log-
houses are made of ' nigger shingles ; ' a sort of rough boards about five
feet long, half an inch thick, and six or eight inches wide, split off from
yellow-pine logs — peeled off with the grain like bark round and round
the log — and then piled up to be pressed into shape and to dry. A
capital roofing material. Some very pretty, quaint, chateau-like houses

210 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

are made wholly of them in other camps. Musicians from the Reg.
mustered into the 3d Brigade Band.

Oct. 7. Wed. Pleasant. Reg. at work on the defenses. Mid-days
now are very hot, nights veiy cold ; result many cases of chills and fever.
Furloughs are being granted quite freely.

Oct. 8. Thurs. Pleasant. Reg. at work on the defenses. The
Lieutenants in command of companies receive $10 per month extra pay
— small pay for a great bother. " Had the honor of walking up arid down
the front street of our camp (as a guard) with a conscript — with a pole
on his back." Luey.

Oct. 9. Fri. Very warm. Reg. at work on rifle-pits west of our
camp. Nowadays Reveille sounds half an hour before sunrise ; Tattoo
at 8 p. m. ; Taps at 9 p. m., and the camp is quiet about 9.30 p. m.

Oct. 10. Sat. Pleasant. Reg. at work on the defenses. Batteiy
L, 4th Regulars, goes from our lines near Ft. Tillinghast to Yorktown.
Quarter-master Morrison departs for home on leave.

Oct. 11. Sun. Pleasant, cool. Usual Sunday duties. A. very par-
ticular inspection.

Some regimental officers of the day, with their diagonally worn sash —
from right shoulder to waist — and their polygonally worn tem])er, are
the tallest men in the army for their little day. They love to hear :
" Turn out the guai'd — Officer of the Day ! ! " and to receive their salute
of ' present arms.' It is difficult to divide the honors between them and
the little corporal with his guard. Every regiment has one, two, or more
samples. The boys of the relief waiting about the guard headquarters
greatly enjoy making good-natured sport of these pompous gentlemen, and
when they see one of them coming, they frequently reverse the above order,
and give notice of his approach to their officer, by shouting — " 0. T. D. ! !
Turn out the day — Officer of the guard."

Oct. 12. Mon. Warm. Reg. at work on log-houses and tents.
Reporters for Northern papers are tramping through the camp all the
time. They are supplied with a varied assortment of news by mischiev-
ous wags, and over and over again the packages are put up wrong, for the
fun of it. Their papers publish the stuff ; we read it in a few days, and
wonder at credulity. There is, however, a large class of soldiers who
manage to visit distant regiments and points in the night, gather reliable
information, and exchange it with their fellows. These " camp walkei's "
will spread any bit of news throughout the command with amazing rapid-
ity. The average soldier is well posted in affairs, as affairs really are ;
and no barometer ever noted the advance of a coming storm more quickly
and accurately than the common soldiers somehow, and almost intuitively,
gain the news of coming march or battle. Aggi'egate mentality is a
world of wonders.

Oct. 13. Tues. Pleasant. Reg. improving the defenses. Henry
C. Howard of Co. E is detailed as dentist for the Thirteenth — and proves
a success in that duty. Inspection by Capt. Julian.

1863 CAMP GILMORE. 211

Oct. 14. "Wed. Very warm. Reg. in camp. A detail sent as
provost-guard to near Portsmouth and on the bank of the creek above the
town. The writer, in charge of the provost-guard at Scott's Creek, near
Portsmouth, while on his rounds about one o'clock a. m., sees a light burn-
ing in a large house not far fi-om the picket line and to the north of
Hall's Corner, a house which he knows has no regular tenants. Hoping
to find the parties within engaged upon the rebel mail, and approaching
cautiously, he succeeds in climbing a high fence that is around the yard,
and in getting within a rod or two of the house ; when the light is sud-
denly put out, and two large brown and white dogs make a rush at him,
from a shed near by, howling and barking as watch-dogs will. The lar-
gest dog was cured by one broadside slash with the sword, and the smaller
one with a vigorous lunge, and both went back rehearsing a new tune ;
while the writer remounted the fence, and ' withdrew for a better position.'
He does not like too many dogs. The pickets, hearing the noise, came as
soon as possible, but ten or fifteen minutes had passed, and neither dogs
nor any other occupants could be found about the premises. It is sup-
posed that all had retreated to one of the underground hiding places,
with which this whole rebel region is well provided. And this shows
another phase of fighting down the rebellion.

Oct. 15. Thurs. Very warm. Reg. chopping. A detail also cut-
ting logs for our new guard-house ; the logs for this building are all to have
the bark taken off.

Oct. 16i Pri. Hot. Reg. chopping. Along here work is system-
atically divided — house-building, chopping, shoveling, etc., according to
the capabilities of the men.

Oct. 17. Sat. Pleasant. Officers beginning to be at home in their
log-houses. At first it was intended that all the houses should be made of
one uniform pattern, but soon that plan was departed from, and the camp
presents a pleasing variety of architecture. Colonel Stevens' house is
veiy spacious and well furnished. The line officers' houses are each large
enough for a family to reside in, excepting Lieut. Thompson's of Co. E.
Owing to his long absence on picket, and the importunate calls of ranking
officers upon the labor of the teams, his house is the last one built in camp.
The Brigade commander inquiring the cause of this delay, and being in-
formed, orders the teamsters to bring the material at once. This is also
the smallest of the officers' houses — 10 feet by 16 on the ground, of one
story and of one room. It has two glass windows, a brick chimney and
a large fireplace. All the houses are made of logs, partly hewn, chinked
with mud, and the most have chimneys of brick — all standing outside.
Southern fashion — and wide, open fireplaces. There is any quantity of
good dry wood, and great roaring fires give welcome cheer. When a
gum-tree has died standing and is thoroughly dried, it makes a fire not
surpassed by the best hickory. Half the houses are papered with Har-
pers, and other pictorial papers, and maps and pictures of all sorts, tacked
on all over the inside of walls and roofs.

212 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

Oct. 18. Sun. Warm. Companies C, G and H leave camp at 8
a. m. for one week's picketing on the Portsmouth road, a sort of provost-
guard. The rebel mail-carrier is the bugbear — and the standing joke —
on this whole picket line. Not long since he crossed Scott's Creek in a
folding rubber-boat, right under a picket's nose, and was not caught. He
could have punched the stupid jiicket with his pole, he passed so near.
Some of the men seem to believe that he is the very Satan, he is so sly
and so quick ; and they are about as much afraid of a hand-to-hand tussle
with him as they would be with that old fellow himself.

Oct. 19. Mon. Very hot, clear. Reg. improving the defenses.
The work done by the contrabands is of the poorest sort, and is all done
at the snail's pace. They are regularly paid, but their labor does not
amount to one third as much as that of the soldiers, man for man.
They say : " Dat 's de way we work for ole massa ; 'i-golly ! "

Oct. 20. Tues. Very fine day. Reg. improving defenses ; and try-
ing to improve the Subs.

After all is still at night — about 9.30 or 10 p. m. — and the calls of
the various regiments around us have been sounded, and even the big bass-
drum of the 16th Conn, is at rest ; a single bugle, of clear and excellent
tone, and in the hands of a skillful player in the N. Y. Heavy Artillery
regiment stationed near our camp and to the northward of it, sends wide
and full, all through the encampment, its last call of the day. And many
a weary soldier of us, just turned in, drops off to sleep, and to dreams of
home, while that bugle, in a master hand, rings a hundred changes on
that most beautiful, musical and welcome call heard in any army — an-
nouncing that the busy day is now done, inviting to sleep, and giving
assurance that the camp rests in peace and security.

Oct. 21. "Wed. Pleasant. Reg. at work on the defenses. Orders
received to be ready to march to-morrow morning at daybreak, with sixty
rounds of amnuinition ; all the troops in light marching order, and with
three days' cooked rations in haversacks, and seven days' su])ply in
wagons. Soon countermanded.

Oct. 22. Thurs. Pleasant. Reg. improving the defenses. One
Dr. Wiight of Portsmouth, Va., is to be hanged for killing Lieutenant
Sanborn of the Union army ; deliberately shot the Lieutenant while he
was drilling negro troops in front of this Doctor's office.

Oct. 23. Fri. Very pleasant. The Reg. is again at work upon Ft.
Rodman ; the parapets being raised very high to afford a wider range.

Oct. 24. Sat. Rainy, very cold, with a higli wind. Reg. resting
in camp. To-night some of the officers take the shivering camp-guards
in, give them a thorough warming before their big fires — and a glass
from the sly canteen. Hot, strong coffee is better.

Oct. 25. Sun. Rainy, cold. Reg. divides picket duties with the
10th N. H. The old soldiers most disgusted of all with the vicious Subs
are the volunteer Irishmen. A good Sub is well received, but the bad
characters find little mercy at the hands of the Irish Veteran.

1863 CAMP GILMORE. 213

Oct. 26. Mon. Cold. Reg. in camp. Drilling talked of; has
been very limited in these many months of pick, and axe, and shovel.
Lisping patient at Surgeon's call. Surgeon : '' Well, young man, what is
the matter with you ? " Patient : "' I have a thick headache — awful
thick ! " Surgeon : " I know it, I know it, you will die with it ; I can
only relieve you a little — give him a double-scraper, Steward."

Oct. 27. Tues. Very cold. Reg. in camp. " At the funeral of
Lieut. Sanborn, who was shot by Dr. Wright, all the negro troops in the
department were in line. They could not get enough of the marching and
the music, and our Thirteenth Band played the ' Dead March in Saul '
through nineteen times consecutively." Chas. W. Washburkt, Band.

Oct. 28. Wed. Fair, cold, windy. Reg. in camp. " The negroes
at the contraband camp are suffering severely from the cold. Scarcely
any can be found who have a change of clothing of any sort, and a blan-
ket is a rarity among them. The men build large fires out of doors, and
sit or lie about them all night to keep warm. They live on bacon and
corn meal, and bad meal at that, of which they bake bread after a barbar-
ous fashion. They get rye coffee, and eight pounds of sugar per day
for 100 men." Prescott.

Oct. 29. Thurs. Fair. Reg. in camp. Company E and others
on outjjost picket in the swamp. A party of men of the 13th went into
the swamp for wood, and as they were walking along, one of them sud-
denly disappeared dovvn below. He was fished out with poles. Wonder-
ing why a well should be in such a place the men made an investigation.
A large pine-tree had died standing, and all but the bark had rotted.
During the many years required for its destruction, the brush and peat
had accumulated about it to the depth of several feet, so that the bark,
remaining in form, made a quite perfect well eight or ten feet deep, and
nearly three feet across.

Oct. 30. Fri. Pleasant, warm. Reg. in camp. Pay-rolls being
made. The rolls of Company E are made out at the house of a Mr.
Bright, a tar-maker, in the swamp. He has a peculiar fancy for naming
his children with the names of the Southern States. His eldest — a girl,
Louisiana — is about sixteen years old, the youngest a babe ; but his
family has well-nigh confiscated the entire rebel Confederacy ! His house
has no glass windows. Square holes are cut, and cotton cloth stretched
across to admit the light. All can be closed with heavy board, shutters :
" To keep the wild-cats from stealing the children," as he says. On the
fluid of a sort of thick, ' boiled-dinner ' soup, which they had for dinner one
day, clear bacon-fat floated to the de^ith of more than one eighth of an
inch — utterly incompatible with the Northern appetite.

During one dinner here — as we ' boarded ' — a large pig came in and
nosed around familiarly among the children, dogs and chickens on the
floor. Soon piggy smelled a large hoe-cake all baking hot in the ashes of
the fireplace. Before he could be stopped, his hoof had raked the cake
out ; and then plunging his nose deep into the scalding hot mass, he gave

214 THIRTEENTH NEAV HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

one hoggish bite, one awful shake of his head, one shower of dough, one
most unearthly squeal, one tremendous leap for the door — Uie gay curl of
his tail gone out straight as a candle — and we never saw him more. A
sad case of misplaced confidence. The family was sorry to lose the hoe-
cake, but seemed to regard the affair as nothing particularly unusual in
their dining-room.

Oct. 31. Sat. Very warm, the warmest day this month. Reg.
mustered for two months' pay at 10 a. m. by Col. Chas. L. Upham of the
15th Conn. Orders received for the Reg. to drill six hours a day. Co.
E numbers 76 men, a fair average.

All the citizens, as well as all the soldiers, in this part of Dixie have to
procure passes from the General commanding, in ordei to move from
place to place. How would Northern farmers like to be stopped at every
road-crossing and oftener, by a soldier, with : " Your pass, sir, — if you
please ! " No enlisted man can go beyond the regimental guard-line with-
out a pass imm some officer. No officer can leave camp without permis-
sion ; and to visit the city, three miles distant, a pass is required signed
by the Brigade commander, and stating the purpose of the visit. So
arbitrarily circumscribed is our soldier life here.

Nov. 1. Sun. Very fine day, cool. Inspection, parade and religious
services. It is not probable that one fourth of the Thirteenth have been
accustomed at their homes to any form of tlie Eipiscopal Church service.
This makes its use now quite unpopular among the men. There is no
gainsaying that unfortunate fact. Our Chaplain modifies the service
somewhat, still many of the men go unsatisfied away, and long for an
old-fashioned up-country meeting. Independent religious meetings are
frequently held.

This is the way a small society in the Thirteenth came to early grief :
It was formed of a few men only, and not with that open and frank inde-
pendence that should characterize all good endeavoi-s. In tiying to avoid
'talk,' they of course invited it. They were called Sons of Temperance.
Now the initial letters of those three words ai'e most unfortunate, and soon
the sons wei'e dubbed sots — and never heard the last of it. The ridicu-
lous designation practically broke up tire little society.

Nov. 2. Mon. Fair. Now comes a griping spasm of drill — squad,
company, battalion and brigade; even marching Companies B and 1) over
from Fort Tillinghast to join in the drill, thus adding to their day's labor
at drill, a march of over three miles. " The Regiment (to-day) began to
drill."' LuEY.

Nov. 3. Tues. Fair. Reg. drilling ; Maj. Grantman drill-master.
Details sent far into the swamp on ])ioket.

Nov. 4. Wed. Fair. Reg. drilling. Lieut. Thompson of E, with
30 or 40 men, some fi-om each Company, takes a week of Provost-guai'd
duty near Portsmouth — north of Portsmouth road and along Scott's Creek.

Nov. 5. Thurs. Fair. Reg. drilling. Another simple, impressive,
soldiers' buriid of the dead.

18G3 CAMP GILMORE. 215

Nov. 6. Fri. Fair, very dusty. Eeg. drilling. An officer in the
13th, given to joking, purchases a yard or two of bright colored calico at
Norfolk, hangs it up in his nice log-house, and labels it : " Hands off."
He is evidently lonesome.

Nov. 7. Sat. Fair. Rifle practice by the Regiment. Most of the
bullets hit the ground — in course of time ; a new newspaper covered target
will be required about once in three months. We have some fine marks-
men, however — " but they 're mostly all off on picket duty to-day."

Nov. 8. Sun. Fair. Usual Sunday duties. At Dress-parade —
at 5 p. m. — a snow-squall comes up from the rear ; and from a handful
to a pint of coarse, snowy hail rolls down the back of every man's neck.
The loose fitting coat-collars make admirable gutter spouts.

Nov. 9. Mon. Cold, clear ; snowy last night. Company drill in
forenoon. Battalion drill in afternoon. Lieut. Saunders of D has com-
mand of the contraband camp — as the camp of the liberated slaves is
called — liis Hdqrs. being located within a few yards of the quarters of
Co. D at Fort Tillinghast, and Sergt. Batchellor is acting as commissary-
sergeant of the contraband camp.

Two deserters are shot to-day near Fort Reno and about a mile from
Fort Tillinghast. Sergeant Batchellor of D thus describes the affair,
which he witnessed : '' The two desei'ters were members of the 8th Conn.
They were shot at 10 a. m. for their fourth desertion. They had pre-
viously been members of the 8th Conn, and at their last re-enlistment
were unwittingly assigned to the 8th Conn, again, under their new as-
sumed names — and caught. The Brigade was formed in a hollow
square. The deserters rode in a wagon behind their coffins. In the rear
of the wagon came their executioners — ten soldiers from the 15th Conn,
(one of their guns being loaded with a blank cartridge). When the
deserters had arrived in the hollow square, which was open on one side,
the coffins were put down and they knelt beside them. The priests per-
formed the Roman Catholic rites. When all was ready, white bandages
were tied over the deserters' eyes and their hands were bound. They
were then faced toward the men who were to shoot them, and knelt with
their backs to their coffins. When shot one of them made no motion, the
other moved a little — then all was still. After the surgeons had pro-
nounced them dead they were placed in their coffins with their shackles
on their feet."

Nov. 10. Tues. Fair, Major Grantman in command of the Regi-
ment ; which is now at work on the rifle-pits near camp. A stupid Sub
threatens to shoot Sergt. Chas. F. Chapman of E, while he is making the
grand rounds of his guard late at night.

This was the cockney, Reed of E. He was so full of blunders that
he had to l)e placed on some unimportant guard post, and with an empty
gun. As Chapman was going the rounds in the night, he came upon
Reed, who called out : " Stop," instead of halt, and demanded the coun-
tersign. Chapman could not give it at so great a distance, and continued

216 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

to approach. At every step Reed grew more and more angry, swore,
threatened and yelled himself hoarse, and acted more like a mad monkey
than like a man. Chapman came within a few feet, when Reed clubbed
his musket and broke out with a perfect torrent of profanity ; winding up
with : " AVliat do you want, anyhow ? " Chapman raised his voice to the
loudest pitch, and answered : " I want to know if you are awake."
Poor Reed fairly danced a pirouette with rage. It was too bad to tease
the man ; but the scene was very funny.

Nov. 11. Wed. Fair, very cold — coldest day of the season.
Regular monthly inspection of the Reg. by Capt. Julian, A. A. I. G. of
our Brigade. Asst. Surgeon John Sullivan is now very sick, and is not
expected to survive. Has been quite seriously ill for some time past. In
general, however, the health of the Reg. has not been so good as it now
is, since we were at Newport News last spring. Good food is plenty
and cheap. Officers' mess board costs about ^3.00 per week.

Nov. 12. Thurs. Pleasant. Reg. improving defenses. Gen.
Getty — so the story goes — meets a party of shovelers on their way
from work to camp, and asks : " Well, boys, which do you prefer, the
axe, the shovel or the gun ? " They reply : " Neither — we want to go
home." He answers : " Very good ; you can go now, two at a time from
each company." And that is the order from Division Hdqrs. Maj.
Gen. B. F. Butler succeeds Maj. Gen. Foster, in command of this De-
partment of Virginia and North Carolina.

Nov. 13. Fri. Cold. This afternoon the Reg. is suddenly called
out under arms, and marches to Bowers Hill veiy rapidly — distance
near five miles — arrives about sunset, and bivouacs near the fort as a
support for the cavalry and pickets. The whole line is under arms all
day and night, which is very damp and cold. All quiet where we are,
but a rebel force of cavalry is hovering near, said to be 1,800 strong.

Nov. 14. Sat. Cold, rainy last night. Reg. returns to camp to-
day about noon, cold, wet and tired. Glad to get away from that front.
The Reg. takes a regular fight with some degree of relish, but guerilla
warfare is an abomination. One whole regiment is constantly employed
in fighting guerillas, on our front lines. At South Mills recently a Lieu-
tenant, riding beyond the lines on a scout, had his horse shot under him
and riddled with bullets ; while the Lieutenant received nine bullets in
his clothing and body, but managed to escape without assistance, and will
recover. He came within range of a guerilla band of about fifty men,
and they gave him one volley.

Nov. 15. Sun. Pleasant. Reg. in camp. Captain Stoodley takes
a detail of about one hundred officers and men for a turn of picket at
Bowers Hill. Dress-parade, and particular inspection of arms.

Nov. 16. Mon. Fair. Reg. in camp. The people — natives —
in the vicinity of Bowers Hill, are a very peculiar, mixed race, as if the
Indian, the white, and the negro were fused together. Some are very
handsome, but the most are distant, taciturn, forbidding and repulsive.

1863 CAMP GILMORE. 217

Nov. 17. Tues. Fair. Reg. at work on the defenses. The Subs
are exceedingly troublesome. They get drunk, fight, distui'b the camp,
break heads, steal, lie, fall asleep at their posts, desert the guard, and
serve the evil one generally. The old soldiers are getting angry with
them, all through and through. There have been numerous rumors of
late that the Subs are planning a mutiny. Many of the regiments have
them ; and their plan is for all to suddenly join together, and go over
into the Confederacy in an armed body. There will be music when they
try it I A search found many navy revolvers among them.

Nov. 18. "Wed. Fair. The dust about camp is terrible ; when the
wind blows, clouds of it shut out all views, blinding and choking every-
body and filling the tents and houses. You can write your name in the
dust on every coat, cot and table in camp. The country here is sandy,
the sand is very fine and filled with the almost impalpable dust of de-'
cayed organic matter, light as dry flour.

The swamp natives j^ractice the nastiest custom yet invented — ' dip-
ping.' They pass round a plate filled with snuff, and provided with one
or two little brushes. As the dish of snuff goes round, each one present,
both young and old, takes the brush, covers it with snuff, and with it
slowly swabs the inside of his or her mouth and gums ! Read this after
dinner ; it is worse than using a family tooth brush — in a boarding-
house.

Nov. 19. Thurs. Fair. A portion of the Reg., including Com-
pany E, are on the Portsmouth road on picket ; we have any quantity
of genuine Norfolk oysters, and cook them in every possible style. We
guard sundry oyster beds, and take high pay in kind. The creek where
they are found is called Scott's Creek.

At Fort Rodman near our camp an ingenious Lieutenant emptied a
long Parrott shell of its powder, as he thought, and used the shell for an
andiron in the fireplace of his log-cabin. About ten o'clock at night
the shell exploded, demolishing the cabin, lifting the roof, knocking the
chimney and fireplace all into flinders, hurting the Lieutenant badly and
leaving him sprawling on the middle of his cabin floor all out of doors,
under the stars, and scared half out of his wits. The explosion was
taken in camp to be a signal gun, announcing an attack by the enemy.
It roused the whole force, which sprang to arms — an army roused at
dead of night. Guns were manned in short order ; regiments got i*eady
to fall into line ; bugle blasts started cavalry and field artillery to ' boots
and saddles ; ' the whole camp was all up and coming — and the camp
followers gathered their effects for a characteristic skedaddle to the rear.
But orderlies soon began to fly about, and to explain the cause of the
disturbance. Quiet was then quickly restored, and the men turned in
again. Never use loaded Parrott shells for andirons.

Nov. 20. Fri. Clear ; extremely windy. This plain — of our
camp — a few months ago was a nearly empty field, now there are
several hundreds of lai-ge houses and buildings, besides all the tents of

218 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

the men. Quite a city — the snug winter quarters of a lively little army.
The Reg. is now all settled in winter quarters, and the duties of guard
and picket are quite regular. Regimental court martial convenes, hav-
ing several hard cases on its list ; Lieut. Thompson of E acting as Judge
Advocate.

Nov. 21. Sat. Fair ; a few showers. Tlie part of the line on our
front is now held by a company of cavalry, about six miles from our
camp : about one mile this side of them are posted two guns and a small
garrison near Bowers Hill — where the pickets going out from the Thir-
teenth are stationed — the Ca2)tain of the picket having command of the
whole post. A numerous patrol are moving continually between these
posts and our camp, and sundry special picket posts at points in the
swamp. No firing allowed now on the picket lines, though the outer
cavalry vedettes have an occasional brush with guerillas.

Nov. 22. Sun. Fair. Dress-parade, inspection, prayers. The
picket returns from Bowers Hill to camp about 2 p. m., having been re-
lieved by the 16th Conn. Five officers of the Reg. are now absent on
leave. The officers in camp do the work of the absent officers for noth-
ing ; while the officers during absence from duty on leave draw half pay.
This is hardly a fair i:)roceeding.

Nov. 23. Mon. Rainy, cold. Reg- in camp. Francis Wild, a
nimble little Englishman, enlisted in Company E, and deserted soon after
our Regiment came into Virginia. Now he has the inestimable cheek to
write to one of his old comrades in Co. E that he has in all enlisted six
times, six times received his bounties, and has just got safely out of his
sixth desertion ! Where is the Regiment that can excel our own glorious
Thirteenth ?

Nov. 24. Tues. Fair. Capt. Dodge of B is sent away ujion some
War Department business. The secessionists are growling fearfully
about Maj. Gen. B. F. Butler now in command of this Department.
Well they may if they do not behave to suit him.

Nov. 25. "Wed. Pleasant. Reg. drilling. Orders now are that
we must drill in all suitable weather. The average soldier prefers to drill
when he is shoveling, and to shovel when he is drilling, and, for a change,
much prefers — neither.

Just west of our camp, a long stockade stretches straight across the
plain, from near Fort Rodman and the Suffolk road, north to Bruce's
Creek (so named for a resident landholder). The logs are large, many
of them a foot in diameter, they are set deep in the ground, stand exactly
vertical, and rise from eight to ten feet above the ground. A deep,
muddy swamp lies directly in front of the stockade nearly impassable
for infantry. The fortifications on this line are now regarded as com-
pleted, and the troops are congratulated in special orders. Fort Rod-
man is so named in honor of Lt. Col. Isaac P. Rodman, of the 4th R. I.,
who resigned some months since.

Nov. 26. Thurs. Fair and pleasant. Thanksgiving Day in camp

1863 CAMP GILMORE. 219

— observed as a holiday. There are all sorts of races ; horse-races, sack-
I'accs, foot-races, black-races (a black boy will run his legs off for a
dollar), white races and wheelbarrow-races. The latter are very funny.
About fifty men are in line blindfolded and each with a wheelbarrow.
Every nose is set jioint blank for a barrel a hundred yards distant.
At a signal all start at once running toward the barrel ; they collide,
mix up, tumble over, turn all sorts of curves and circles, some even com-
ing back near where they started — but only one hits the barrel. Almost
all of our men have a good dinner to day. The ' plums ' for a four quart
plum-pudding cost our mess $1.50 in Norfolk. Officers' board in general
costs now from $3.00 to $5.00 per week. A Dress-parade at sundown,
with religious services, fitly closes the day ; and in the evening there is
a regular jubilee over tlie news from Gen. Grant's army about Chat-
tanooga — the wliole command cheering.

Nov. 27. Fri. Cold, rainy. Squad drill. For a while this autumn
the Reg. is instructed in bayonet exercise by an Italian soldier. The
25th Mass. and 4th R. I. regiments are encamped near the 13th, and all
are very fraternal and friendly.

Nov. 28. Sat. Rainy — and our camp is a swamp with all its
ditches full of water. To-night one of the darkest nights that man ever
saw. The Reg. is ordered to be ready, on Monday next, to witness the
execution — by shooting — of three men of our Brigade, for desertion.
The whole Brigade is ordered out also. (The writer does not witness
this execution — nor any other.)

Copy of a Thirteenth soldier's application for furlough — sent direct
to the General commanding :

Nov the 1863 28
Camp Gilmore Near Portsmouth Va
13 Reg N H Vol

General Sir I Request a furlow of days to Visit my home in the

State of New Hampshire to arange some unseteled buisness also to make
some important famley arangments of Gi'ate impotance to myself and
famley Respectfuly Yours *****

(He had six children, more or less, the youngest a year old, and
' General Sir ' granted him a 'furlow ' immediately.)

Nov. 29. Sun. Severe rain storm. Reg. keeps close in its quar-
ters. No Sunday inspection, parade or services.

There is a family named Wood living near our picket post on Deep
Creek, consisting of a father, mother, a couple of boys, and several girls
nearly grown to womanhood, who spend their winter evenings sitting
around their fire, and all smoking together. If one of our pickets gives
them a call, it is in good form for one of the girls to take the pipe from
her own sweet mouth, and pass it to the guest to smoke, while she pro-
ceeds to light another pipe for herself. Dismal Swamp etiquette. Not
one of this family can either read or write.

Nov. 30, Mon. Pleasant, cool. Reg. drilling. The guerillas are

220 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHHIE REGIMENT. 1863

exceedingly troublesome on the outer lines of this Department. One
regiment is almost wholly employed in fighting them. They drive in the
outposts repeatedly, and we are all the time under orders to be ready for
an instant move. Their style of warfare is diabolical nuirder.

Dec. 1. Tues. Sudden cold snap ; nuich ice about camp. Reg.
drilling. ' Comfort Bags ' filled with needles, thread, pins and numerous
other little conveniences, now invade our camp in large numbers. They
are made by the pretty girls in New Hampshire, and usually contain a
letter signed by the maker. Many correspondences are thus begun —
with more or less fun, foolishness or mischief.

Dec. 2. "Wed. Warmer. Company drill forenoon. Battalion drill
afternoon. Capt. Smith writes : " Active service in the army makes
strange bed-fellows." Asst. Surgeon Sullivan goes home on leave,
granted upon a medical certificate that it is necessary for him to leave
the front in order to save his life.

Dec. 3. Thurs. Fair. Reg. drilling ; Battalion drill in afternoon
with Capt. Dodge for drill-master. Officers' school, in tactics, for three
evenings in the week. A canvass reveals the fact that all the officers in
the Thirteenth, excepting four, have visited home on leave.

Dec. 4 Fri. Fair. Brigade drill — Col. Steere commanding.

A soldier, very drunk, is seen plodding along the dusty road near our
camp, reeling from side to side, and cheering with all his might. Sundry
troops, half a mile away, are cheering loudly also. Some one asked him
why he was cheering, when he drew himself up as if his dignity was
insulted by such a question, and replied : " Hanged if I know. Heard
them. Sir, and I, Sir, cheered. Sir — as a 'zample (hie) of discipline.
Sir." Swung his caj), cheered again, and reeled along conscious of hav-
ing done his whole duty. He emphasized ' Sir ' most heavily.

Dec 5. Sat. Pleasant, quite cool. Reg. marches out about a mile
and practices at target-shooting, at the usual place, on right hand of
road, west of camp, just beyond the stockade gateway. There are 250
guns, and the men fire 20 rounds per gun — 5,000 shots — and the irrev-
erent affirm that the vicinity of the target is the safest place to be found
within a circuit of half a mile. The Sub and cockney. Reed of E, wants
to show the Regiment, " 'Ow they fire bin the Hold Hinglish Harmy."
He steps to the front, holds his gun at arm's length, fires — and doubles
up like an old jackknife, a rod back in the brush. The boys have given
him a kicking gun. He takes his place in the rear rank again, and at
the next fire singes his file-leader's hair and whiskers, and nearly breaks
his head. Col. Stevens sends him off to camp ; and we turn him into a
mess-cook, a good one too, the best in camp. He used to be a cook on a
French man-of-war.

Dec. 6. Sun. Fair, very cold. Usual Sunday duties. Company
H has a genius by name Blank, a Sub and white-headed war-eagle about
eighteen years old. What he does not know he cannot learn — and
there is no gainsaying it. The Colonel, between Reed and Blank, could

1863 CAMP GILMORE. 221

but lose his temper and gravity together yesterday, and was forced to
laugh at their mistakes. These with others were put into the awkward
squad and drilled in firing ; and it' all had been drilled for a month at
acting the fool, they could not have succeeded better in that role. They
were honest enough ; they cannot learn the manual of arms. Every
reo-iment has a few of these irreclaimable ' awkwards.'

Dec. 7. Mon. Fair, windy. Capt. Stoodley starts for home on a
twenty days' leave. Reg. drilled five hours a day every day of last week,
and is at it again to-day. Drill now is full martinet. The officers
have to study very hard ; and, besides, have to drill on extra hours in
the Italian bayonet exercise. An Italian, said to be one of Garibaldi's
men, is their tutor. The officers are expected to learn the whole exercise
in two weeks, and then to drill their companies in it.

Dec. 8. Tues. Fair. Company drill forenoon. Battalion drill af-
ternoon, followed by an hour of bayonet drill — • bayonet exercise ' — for
the whole command ; the Thirteenth alone requiring a field of many
acres. The space occupied by each man at this drill is necessarily as
broad as the man can reach with his gun and bayonet in every direc-
tion. A body of men drilling with the bayonet look in the distance like
a line of beings made up about equally of the frog, the sand-hill crane, the
sentinel crab and the grasshopper ; all of them rapidly jumping, thrust-
ing, swinging, striking, jei'king, every way, and all gone stark mad.

Dec. 9. "Wed. Cold, damp, chilly. The sutler has a lot of handsome
apples, red cheeked russets, which taste like a mixture of sweet geranium,
allspice and lard. They sell readily. Every purchaser protests that they
are spoiled. The sutler says : " They are very nice — but I guess that
suthin has kinder got onto um." Pud Long smashes one against the
head of the sutler's boy, and then visits the guard-house for a few hours ;
when some one goes and pays over the two cents — the price of the
apple — and gets him excused. Those pretty apples, several barrels full
of them, nearly raise a mutiny in camp.

Dec. 10. Thurs. Cold. Afternoon drill omitted. Our line of
works are highly praised. They demand no labor now excepting for
occasional repairs. In front of them a strip of timber, in many places
dense and valuable, has been leveled — to rot or burn — nearly a mile
wide and three or four miles long. Whei'e'the army goes, there goes
destruction — the South is being fearfully punished.

Dec. 11. Fri. Clear. Reg. drilling ; Capt. Bradley drill-master.
It is intended that each Captain in turn shall drill the Regiment.

A couple of soldiers took a walk in the swamp, and finding an unex-
ploded shell, thought to have a little fun in exploding the thing. They
built a fire, threw in the shell — a large one — and took position behind
convenient trees for protection. The shell was a long time in getting
hot enough to burst. One of the men, whose tree was not too large,
growing impatient leaned forward, and took a side glance at the shell, on
the very instant when it burst. He had in bending, incautiously exposed

222 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 18G3

himself to danger in the rear, and a piece of the shell made away with
a considerahle slice of his pantaloons, and a piece of himself in addition.
He was for several weeks fitted only for election to some standing-com-
mittee — the sliell chipped him,

Dec. 12. Sat. First Sergeant James M. Hodgdon of B is pro-
moted to Sergeant Major of the Thirteenth — a most excellent appoint-
ment. He is six feet tall, straight as an arrow, lean as a rail, popular,
thoroughly posted in his duties, sharp, active, quick, prompt, and per-
fectly cool when under fire. Col. Stevens makes a speech to the Reg.
while on Dress-parade. He, his wife and other ladies wlio have been
visiting the Reg. here in camp, are to go North to-morrow.

Dec. 13. Sun. A violent thunder storm to-niglit ; wind, rain, hail,
and lightning all at once, and very much of them all. Tents are blown
down, chimneys upset, log-houses unroofed, and the earth-work defenses
badly washed and gullied. Col. Stevens leaves camp this morning for
the recruiting service at Concord. Lt. Col. Storer starts for home on
leave ; Capt. Dodge succeeding him in command of Ft. Tillinghast.
Adjutant Boutwell and wife, and their little boy, also Assist. Surgeon
Small, of the 10th N. H., and his wife arrive in camp about 6 p. m.

Dec. 14. Mon. Rainy forenoon. Corripany drill in afternoon.
Capt. Julian of E returns to his company ; Adjutant Boutwell returns
to duty and relieves Lieut. Durell. who has acted as Adjutant for a long
term, and who is now very sick. All this relieves Lieut. Thompson of E
from the command of that company, which he has held for about four
months. A Lieutenant in command of a company receives 810 per
month extra pay for that service — and far more kicks than coppers at
that. Lt. Col. Storer is badly hurt, by an accident, in New York city
to-day, as we learn by telegraph.
Dec. 15. Tues. Warm, windy.
Dec. 16. "Wed. Very chilly, clear. Reg. drilling.
Dec. 17. Thurs. Pleasant; showers. Reg. drilling.
Dec. 18. Fri. Fair, cool. Reg. drilling.

Dec. 19. Sat. Cool. These Saturdays, at noon, are the regular
days for target practice — artillery, infantry, cavalry, all together. The
big guns make a great deal of noise. The infantry firing is done chiefly
in volleys. Frequently it is done about like this : " Fire by battalion ;
Battalion, ready, Aim — Fire 1 " Thrrrip-rrip-rip-ip ; follows the volley.
Next Monday morning the last seven men and a ' half ' are drilled at
firing, in the awkward squad ; and forget all they learn before Saturday
comes again. There was one volley well given yesterday by seven regi-
ments ; and 2,500 or 3,000 muskets all fired at once reminds us of the
opening volley which we I'eceived at the hands of the rebels in the night
assault on Marye's Heights, Dec. 13, 1862 — a crash.

Dec. 20. Sun. Fair, very cold. Usual Sunday duties. New Hos-
pital of the 13th finished and occupied to-day-
How to bake army beans : Dig a hole in Virginia clay two feet wide.

1863

CAMP GILMORE. 223

six feet long, and three feet deep, and keep It full of burning wood for
several hours. At night — Saturday — put in the camp-kettles full of
beans prepared as for an oven, and cover the hole. Sunday morning
serve hot. Warranted equal to the best ' Boston-baked ' — especially
when the whole matter is managed by Andrew Hanou.

Dec. 21. Mon. Fair, very cold. " A SI, 000 negro astride a $150
horse makes a colored cavalryman." (Lt. Col. Smith.) As things
have changed, however, in Dixie land, the horse will fetch the most
money. Reg. at work on military road in rear of forts and trenches.

Dec. 22. Tues. Cold, windy. While the Band is playing at guard-
mounting this morning, the valves in the instruments keep freezing, and
Ihe music is very bad indeed — a compound of squeaks, yelps and blares.
After a little, a small dog — a homely small dog — appears and coolly
takes a seat on the ground, a little way to the front of the Band, looks
the players full in the face, screws his own face into a most comical, droll
and pitiful expression, and begins to whine and howl. He proceeds with
his accompaniment all the time while the Band is playing. The scene is
a severe strain upon military discijiline, nearly causing both Band and
guard to break ujj in laughter. Inasmuch, however, as no one has been
specially detailed to kick that particular dog. Army Regulations cannot
permit any interference. Later, by special order, this dog is excluded
from parades.

Dec. 23. "Wed. Snowy, windy, freezing day. Report now has it
that we are to visit the south Mississippi country for a campaign this win-
ter. " Lt. Col. Storer was hurt (in New York) — his shoulder broken."

Capt. Julian".

Dec. 24. Thurs. Cold, clear. The men at Fort Rodman dig an
opossum out of his hole. He feigns death — plays 'possum — most
admirably. He is subjected to very severe handling, almost torture, but
cannot be made to exhibit even a sign of life. At last he is laid out on
his back on a board, in the sunsliine, and we hide behind a pile of lum-
ber to watch him, Presently he opens one eye, then the other — and
then in a twinkling there is a streak of opossum a hundred feet long in
the midst of a long line of dust. He disappears as if upon the wings of
the wind.

No soldier in the army ever hangs up his stocking for the favors of
Santa Clans ; the holes in heel and toe so generally comprise the most of
that garment, that the leakage would be in excess. One only piece of
folly could equal it : that of the Admiral who had his fleet of vessels
provided with numerous large casks filled with water, so that if the ves-
sels should run aground, the water could be poured overboard — and lift
them oif.

Dec. 25. Fri. Fair. Christmas. The 4th R. I. boys celebrate the
day with games, races, a banquet and other festivities. The Brigade
Band furnishes some excellent music for the occasion. The natives here
and the negroes make very much of Christmas ; and they collect in large
numbers, and witness to-day's celebration with evident great pleasure.

224 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

Dec. 26. Sat. Cold. Sergeant Batchellor of D writes from his
coniinissary tent at the contraband canijj : " Darkeys being- paid off make
a finer show than any circus in the land ; you should see the ivory come
in sight as they receive the greenbacks ! Two thirds of them do not
know a one from a five dollar bill."

Dec. 27. Sun. Pleasant, warm. A First Sergeant's duties on Sun-
day are a burden ; and if he ever finds any time for rest, it must be
when he is dead, too sick to move — or promoted to a commissioned
oflicer. A part of his Sunday duties are the following, which are the
same, and worse, in every infantry regiment in the service :

First. He must manage somehow to wake and get up in the morning
before any one else in his company, and before the Reveille sounds.

Second — daylight. Reveille and Roll-call. First Sergeant must call
the roll of his company, and find the whereabout of all absentees, no
matter where they are ; must notify each man in the company — 50 or
100 of them — as to all that the men are to do on this day ; must make
details for camp guard, and half a dozen various other jobs, and set the
rogues, under a Corporal, to sweeping and cleaning camp, police duty —
where there is no need of it. During this time the whole comjjany stands
shivering and grumbling.

Third — six o'clock a. m. Breakfast. First Sergeant must see to it
that the men have a good breakfast, whether rations are good or not ;
and also see that the men behave well while getting it, for the soldiers
are ' passed around ' to their victuals, every man his own waiter, and all
waiting too long. The men march in single file past the cook's tent, with
their plates and cups, get their ' divvy ' (portion), and then go eat it
where they can. Breakfast done, the men grumble half an hour.

Fourth — 7.25 a. m. Surgeon's call. Tune: ''Come and get yer
quinine, ye lame, sick and lazy." First Sergeant marches the ' sick '
men — often a sorry display of transparent, malingering deceits — up to
the Surgeon's tent, to be examined and dosed, and if it be to them possi-
ble, to be excused from all duty for 24 hours. Those thus excused are
expected to limp slowly back to their tents, close them, and then to stand
on their heads, dance a fancy jig, or turn somersaults for ten minutes.
First vSergeant in accordance with the Surgeon's order writes on his list
of three to a dozen names, what each of these sick men is to do during
the day — and he must see that they do it. The Surgeon excuses some
from all duty, designates others for light duty, orders some to be put on
double duty for shamming, doses several and damns the balance ; after
which the men grumble for about twenty minutes.

Fifth — 7.45 a. m. First Sergeant reports the number of men in his
company, fit for duty, to the Adjutant. The Adjutant calls all the First
Sergeants to his tent several times during every Sunday, by a peculiar
tap, made by the drummer. Certain men are wanted at each time, and
each First Sergeant must run all over camp to find them. He is now
tired, and just as he has parted his coat tails to sit down on a stump and

1863

CAMP GILMORE. 225

rest a little — the tenth vain attempt he has already made this morning
to gain a moment's vest — '' rap-tap-tap," sounds the drum for Guard-
mounting. Now he has another race all over camp ; his temper begins to
toss, and he makes a few remarks. Every company has one laggard at
least ; and in each, also, some men must be substituted for others a few
minutes after the last moment — fate and Sunday invariably conspire to
this end, and never fail to accomplish it. This causes serious grumbling.

Sixth — 8 a. m. Guard-mounting. First Sergeant has now a half
hour's job at this nonsensical show, in which something always goes
wrong on Sunday. The regimental Officer of the day can always give
sharp points to a Field Marshal of France, and on any Sunday would
drum him out of camp. After a time this most pompous and truly
' poppy-cock ' ceremony of all in the army is over and done, and the First
Sergeant hurries back to his company to prepare for inspection — which
is preceded by universal grumbling.

Seventh — 9 or 10 a. m. Regimental Inspection. First Sergeant
must get his company at once in line in the company street, or elsewhere,
and then he must carefully look all his men over from top to toe ; then
appears the Inspector ; and the men's arms, tents, clothing on and cloth-
ing otf, are examined, and comments made to most greatly annoy, or to
praise, individual cases. All not praised are insulted of course — and
ninety-nine out of every hundred commence grumbling.

Eighth — 12 noon. Dinner. A Sunday dinner is the best to be had
— banquet is no name for it. First Sergeant marches the men up to
the company-cook's tent for their rations. No matter how good the din-
ner may be, the boys find it ' not half so good as their grandmother used
to cook,' and it is not satisfactory. A part of the cook's regular duties
is to stand up and be ' camp-lingoed ' by seventy -five men ; still he is in
despair on Sunday, and the more he explains, and the more badly he
feels, the worse they belabor him — and grumble. A noted grumbler in
the Thirteenth found a mule's shoe snugly tucked into the piece of boiled
beef given him for a Sunday dinner. The cook said by way of explana-
tion that ' ther Ijeef-critter must have swallud ther mule.' Still the man
grumbled about it! Su])per we omit to mention, for it is ten times
meaner than the breakfast or dinner — the hash of both re-hashed.
After dinner is over First Sergeant goes and writes a lively and cheerful
letter home ; telling his mother how contented he is, how happy, and
what delightful companions the men of his company are, how he is anx-
ious to meet the foe, spoiling for a fight, etc., etc., and stuffs his letter
plumb full of patriotism and piety.

Ninth — sunset. Dress-parade. First Sergeant has just had a nap in
which he takes a sleigh-ride with his sweetheart — in a dream interrupted
in the nicest phase by the malicious drum — and he wakes up, with both
eyes shut, and starts to get his company promptly in line. The parade is
formed. At the Adjutant's order : " First Sergeants to the front and cen-
tre — March ! " and when they get there, " Front — Face. Report ! " he

226 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1863

salutes and reports, with a wonderful elocution and marvelous distinctness,
" Coiuny JayalIi)resncounndfor ! " and returns to his place, proud of his
soldierly a])pearance, j^rowess and lofty rank. At Dress-jmrade religious
services are held — when thought necessary. The Thirteenth, however,
are all considered so very good, and exemplary, that such services are
frequently omitted — and not made very strong at any time. This is as
it should be, of course, but, nevertheless, the moment the men break i-anks,
they all fall again to grumbling.

Tenth — 9 p. m. Tattoo. Roll-call by the First Sergeant ; and a
few gentle words about the morrow. By this time the men are all sleejiy,
yawning and grumbling.

Eleventh — 9.30 or 10 p. m. Taps. Lights must be put out in the
company tents ; but there is no suiting anybody on Sunday. The men
want to read or write a little more — like a boy when it is time to go to
bed — and the First Sergeant, now three quarters dead, must go from
tent to tent, and see that the lights ai'e put out at once. You can hear
his persuasive voice shouting — with disgust and wrath — at twenty suc-
cessive tent doors : " Lights out here — do you hear ? " amid unpleasant
remarks, and much grumbling, made by the men within them.

Thus the Sundays w^ear by, turning one after another like the crank of
an old up-country cider-mill going slowly round' — screak, screak —
grumble, grumble — screak : and the First Sergeant falls late to sleep,
to dream of home and peace ; but to wake before to-morrow's Reveille (if
he can) and again hear — though he does the best he may — the daily
round of grumble, grumble, gTumble. True it is, his lot is not romantic
on a Sunday, but he himself never, never grumbles — he is utterly nau-
seated with it.

There is one other man in the Reg. who never grumbles — the Hos-
pital Steward. He has not had time since he rejjorted for that duty to
squeeze a gi*umble-word in edgewise, besides he is not a grumbling per-
son. He is an overworked man, and how he endures the strain is past
comprehension. His horse has been a balky mule, many of his patients
are negroes who never saw a physician before in their lives, his duties
all done in defiance of weather, while time, place and circumstance have
his interests in no regard. The next in order of men of all work, and of
unending work, are the Sergeant Major and Adjutant. But these, how-
ever harried and hurried, have less of drudgery to peiform. and deal more
with the few officers than with the many men. The ten First Sergeants
in a regiment do more work than any fifty of the other persons in it.

Dec. 28. Mon. Rainy all day. Capt. Stoodley returns to the Reg.

Dec. 29. Tues. Fair. Reg. in camp. The army hard bread —
made of flour, salt and water — though a trifle harder, probably more
nearly resembles the sunburnt bricks of Babylon than any other modern
contrivance. Men at lunch along the roadside, on a halt in their march,
or at a short rest in their work, break off small, irregular, jagged pieces
of this bread, put them into their mouths, and move their jaws over the

1863 CAMP GILMORE. 227

unyielding mass — looking for all the world like cattle eating flint corn
on the cob, or a lot of cows chewing jjieces of brick. Ask any sore-
toothed Veteran if this is not a true sketch. This is what is meant by
" gnawing hard-<)*,ck." Once in a while a good fat maggot appears in a
hard-tack, and then the lucky owner must encourage his appetite, while
he is blamed for cheating the Commissary, that is, procui-ing fresh meat
without orders. Maggots in army bread prove it a good article.

Dec. 30. "Wed. ^ ery fine day. Reg. in camp. A long procession
of fifty queer little covered carts drawn by cattle and mides, and packed
with children, household goods and provisions and accompanied by many
men and women on foot, each one with a bundle, plods slowly past our
camp — refugees from North Carolina. The most of them white people.
Nearly every man, woman and child in the party of two hundi'ed or more
is about half naked ; they save their clothing by carrying it in a bundle.

Dec. 31. Thurs. Rainy. Reg. mustered for pay by Lt. Col. Cough-
lin, 10th N. H. A great deal of drilling has fiUed nearly all the fair
days of this month.

The Subs have taken a new dodge to escape the service : they pur-
posely shoot off the index-finger of their right hands, the finger used to
pull the trigger of the gun in firing. After several cases of the kind
have occurred, the trick is discovered, and Asst. Surgeon Sullivan sug-
gests to Col. Stevens to give notice to all that the next case of the kind
will be punished by having the finger dressed without chloroform or ether.
In a few days, however, one of the guard purposely blows off the end of
the index-finger on his right hand — it is a clear case. True to the
notice given, the finger is properly dressed without the use of any anges-
thetic. He is a big fellow with a strong voice, and bawls most vehemently.
The job hurt of course, but without doing him any especial injury. No
more index-fingers were blown off in the Thirteenth after that noisy case.
The majority of these fellows were a pernicious lot. Many were good
soldiers ; the rest gave early indications of their unhandy genius.

1864.

Jan. 1. Fri. Cloudy, warm morning ; afternoon clear, cold and
very windy ; much damage done to tents. " To-day is the anniversary
of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. A review of Gen.
Wilde's negro Brigade at Norfolk, and a great time among the negro
population." Taogard.

Jan. 2. Sat. Very cold, windy, clear. Reg. in camp. Suffolk
occupied by several thousand Confederates. An extra force sent from
our camp to garrison the Union works at Bowers Hill.

Jan. 3. Sun. Fair. Lieut. Thompson of E starts for home on a
twenty days' leave of absence.

Jan. 4. Mon. Rainy, cold. Reg. in camp. Whenever a body of
troops moves hereabout, the natives — men, women and children alike —
ply the men with questions of all sorts. The most prominent of these

228 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

queries are : " How many air ye ? " and " Where ye at, now ? " One of
a group of half a dozen adult natives asked of us one day : " What rigi-
munt air ye ? " Thirteen rei)lied : " We are the A-Onceters ; " and passed
on, leaving the group discussing what State that could possibly be.

Jan. 6. Tues. Cold, cloudy. Officers at work on Pay-rolls. A
member of the 13th writes : " 'T is a common failing of soldiers to know
just what is going to transpire weeks before it never does transpire."

Jan. 6. "Wed. Cold, snowy at night. The New Year commences
with a rush of re-enlistments in the old regiments. In one of them all
the men but five have re-enlisted ; in one brigade all but about sixty.
"These are the sort of men the Confederates do not wish to meet —
trained soldiers and volunteei's."

Jan. 7. Thurs. Cold, cloudy ; a very stormy night, with hail and
snow. Lieut. Saunders goes home on leave. A tent in Co. E takes fire
to-night and burns up, with nearly everything in it ; no person hurt.

Jan. 8. Fri. Cold, stormy — hail and snow. Too cold for outdoor
work ; none done nowadays excepting imperative duties. A magnificent
theatre has been built in camp — and the amateur entertainments in it are
still more magnificent.

Jan. 9. Sat. Cold, clear. The weather reminds us of Fredericks-
burg ; but our quaiters are now palaces to the freezing and water-soaked
dens of those days.

Jan. 10. Sun. Cold, clear. Reg. in camp. " My house is 11^ feet
by 13i feet (on the ground), and after living in small tents I almost feel
lost in it, because it is so large. Asst. Surgeon Sullivan returned to the
Regiment to-day. He was married during his absence. Adjutant Bout-
well made a sleigh out of a box, hoops, etc., and yesterday took the ladies
visiting our camp out sleigh-riding." Prescott.

Jan. 11. Mon. Warmer. Reg. in camp. The ' upper crust,' among
the native population we have met, hold themselves aloof with much dis-
dain and haughtiness. The lower million are exceedingly inquisitive and
talkative. We soldiers therefore naturally think that the upper tier do
not know enough to be civil, and the lower tier do not know enough to
keep still ; and we turn from both to the great middle class, who, as every-
where, are the honest and honorable people of this great Southern land.

Jan. 12. Tues. Pleasant. Reg. inspected by Lieut. George A.
Bruce, Act. Asst. Inspector General on Brigade staff. The 8th Conu.
leaves for home on a Veterans' furlough.

Jan. 13. Wed. Warm, cloudy, disagreeable day. Reg. still in
camp. Forty-six men sent from the Reg. to join the Invalid Corps.

Jan. 14. Thurs. Cloudy; very muddy. Reg. at work on a cordu-
roy road towards Portsmouth. Lieut. Durell starts for home at noon on
leave of absence.

Jan. 15. Fri. Clear, pleasant ; toward night rainy. Reg. in camp.
Charles W. Green commissioned Captain, and George N. Copj) First
Lieutenant in the 25th U. S. Colored Regiment.

1864 CAMP GILMORE. 229

Jan. 16. Sat. Pleasant. Reg- in camp. Capt. Betton's wife ar-
rives in camp. Many Northern ladies are visiting here this winter, and
on pleasant days the many riding parties make the camp attractive. Gen.
Heckman assumes command of this line, relieving Gen. Getty. Gen.
Weitzel at Norfolk.

Jan. 17. Sun. Very fine day. Inspection in the forenoon. Parade
and religious services at sundown. Small-pox breaks out in the contra-
band camp.

Jan. 18. Mon. Rainy. Reg. in camp. During the whole autumn
and winter, detachments from the 13th have been sent on picket duty —
for a week at a time — on the Union outj)osts in the swamp ; one of them
at the 9th mile-stone on the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad. The 13th
has also supplied men for a long provost-guard line, running across the
country west of Portsmouth ; from Hall's Corner on the Portsmouth road,
about two miles below camp, north to Scott's Creek. Several of the offi-
cers take their meals at Mr. Savage Baker's house, at Hall's Corner.

Jan. 19. Tues. Fair, cold, windy. Reg. in camp. Occasionally
the boys find a small supply of a fine native wine, made of Scu25pernong
grapes, at the citizens' houses in the country ; the citizens generally
realizing a high price for it. The vine is never pruned, and is trained on
large trellises, raised six or eight feet above the ground. The boys no
sooner visit a new bit of the country here than they begin to interview
the citizens about Scuppernong — but where the Confederate soldier has
preceded them the demand exceeds the supply.

Jan. 20. "Wed. Pleasant. Reg. in camp. Thirty-three recruits
arrive in camp for the 13th. Great excitement in the Connecticut Bri-
gade. Many men of the 13th visit their camp, and about thirty are
arrested and lodged in the guard-house, for absence from our camp with-
out leave. Lieut. Staniels returns to the Reg. for duty, from absence on
recruiting service.

Jan. 21. Thurs. Pleasant. A large detail at work on the de-
fenses. The loth Conn, leaves our Brigade for New Berne, N. C. The
16th Conn, also departs for the same locality. Last night they burned
up their quarters, causing a lai'ge conflagration, cut down their flag-staff,
and made their camp a scene of desolation. They depart in anger ; do
not want to go. The whole Connecticut Brigade moves away. Our
Brigade would have gone instead, but was too small.

Jan. 22. Fri. Pleasant. Reg. in camp. Hard work now for the
troops on this line. It is very lightly manned ; not more than 4,000 or
5,000 men all told, for six or eight miles of defenses.

Jan. 23. Sat. Very warm. Thermometer indicates 83° in the
shade, 93° in the sun ; a January thaw, indeed. The 23d Mass. moves
upon the ground vacated by the 16th Conn. The 9th N. J. also moves
to ground near the Thirteenth ; and for the time Col. Steere's Brigade
(ours) consists of the 10th and loth N. H., 4th R. I., 9th N. J. and
23d Mass. regiments.

230 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

There are now but four of the men in our regimental Hospital. All
these ai'C convalescing, and are moved into the Dispensary, a large room,
and the Hospital is cleared and cleaned for a Military Ball. John A.
Bullai-d the Hospital cook, constructs a gorgeous chandelier of pork-
barrel hoops and many-colored tissue paper, and swings it from the
centre of the hall, lighted with candles placed in the shanks of old bayo-
nets. Many flags and streamers give color to the walls. The music, by
our Band, is as usual veiy excellent. Therfe are fourteen ladies present,
and a large number of officers of all ranks. The writer is absent in New
Plarapshire, and therefore cannot write very fully of the occasion. One
incident, however, makes sport for the entire camp. Some of the visit-
ors, and many outsiders, gain, access to Hospital Steward Prescott's medi-
cal stores, and find a large supply of cough mixture, new, fresh and
strong. [Mistaking it for whiskey, they imbibe very freely, and about
thirty of them soon enjoy a spry and lively little ball of their own in
rear of the building. The chopping seas of the wild Atlantic never saw
thirty sicker men than the tartar emetic in that cough mixture furnishes
on this occasion. No play is complete without a touch of comedy, and
these amiable gentlemen are not slow in furnishing it ; while the lookers
on nearly laugh their eyes out of their heads, at seeing this large group
of victims to misplaced confidence assume postures and attitudes, and
" throw up their immortal souls," as Mark Twain says, and swear heartily
between the paroxysms at their most ridiculous and humiliating blunder.
Rich — rich it was. They dance no more to-night — at our Military
Ball — and in the absence of wheelbarrows, a number of them ride home
on stretchers — being most seriously wounded from the bottom of their
stomachs to the top of their pride.

Jan. 24. Sun. Pleasant. Many of the men have a day off, along
here, and visit Fortress Monroe, Norfolk, Portsmouth, etc. A large party
made up of the officers of the Thirteenth, and of other regiments, secure
an engine and cars, and make an excursion on the S. & R. Railroad to
within three miles of Suffolk. A number of ladies, officers' wives and
others, accompany the party, which is sui)plied with an efficient guard.
No accident occurs, and all return much pleased with the expedition.
Chaplain Jones holds a prayer-meeting in the regimental Hospital to-
night ; similar meetings are held nearly every Sunday evening.

Jan. 25. Mon. Pleasant. Reg. in camp. Negro troops doing
provost duty in Norfolk ; keeping the white people in order. On a visit
to Norfolk one can see white Southerners, arrested for sundry misde-
meanors, working on the public streets, under negro guards. Tliis
punishment is meted out to all who have willfully and maliciously torn up
the culverts and bridges, and damaged public property. It is quite a
change to see, in Norfolk, negroes forcing white men to work, at the
point of the bayonet : calling out to them : '' No loaf'n dar ! " " Move
quicker. Sah ! " '• Hurry up dar, Old Whitey ! " and similar orders.
Tables turned !

1864 CAMP GILMORE. 231

Jan. 26. Tues. Pleasant. Reg. in camp.

Jan. 27. "Wed. Very warm. Tliermometer indicates 87° in the
sun. A soldier of the Thirteenth writes : " AU the one-horse officers
and men have a four-horse opinion of themselves."

Jan. 28. Thurs. Hot — for winter. Thermometer indicates 93°
in the sun. Reg. at work on the defenses. ' Llmjjsy ' is the way we feel
— and work.

Jan. 29. Fri. Hot. Thermometer indicates 93° in the sun ; too
warm for the Reg. to work. The negro school established in the contra-
band camp is largely attended, and in a very flourishing condition.

Jan. 30. Sat. Cooler ; a heavy rain at night. Reg. in camp.
Order received that all persons in the camj) and vicinity must be vaccin-
ated, soldiers, citizens and negroes. Surgeon Richardson leaves camp
for Washington, D. C.

Jan. 31. Sun. Cold, cloudy, misty. Reg. in camp. Sixty-four re-
cruits arrive for the Thirteenth, in charge of Lieut. Sawyer of I and
Lieut. Thompson of E. Lieut. Thompson was at home on leave, and
while there was detailed as part of the escort for this body of recruits,
rejiorting at Concord Jan. 26th. They left for the front on that day.
Lieut. Sawyer was taken sick at Baltimore, and for nearly three days
the recruits were held without guard in that city. Lieut. Thompson col-
lects them in their quarters, the loft of an old tobacco warehouse, ex-
plains the situation, and takes the word of honor of every man of the
party, that they will not desert if they have their freedom from a special
guard and are not marched out to the fort. They are then allowed to
go wherever they may please, only promising that they will assemble in
the loft every morning at nine o'clock. They all keej) their agreement,
excepting one, who deserts. The rest of them scour the city for him,
swearing that they will bring him in dead, if he will not come alive ;
but they are unable to find him. They regard him as having disgraced
the whole party. The most of these men made good soldiers.

This incident is noted in the interest of human nature, so called,
which none but fools ever attempt to despise. Honesty and honor are
the basis — the very spirit — of everything in mankind that is worth
having at all ; as its measure is great or small in a person, so that person
is godlike or satanic, every time and everywhere. Even love and purity
must be true and honor bright.

Feb. 1. Mon. Cold, rainy. Reg. in camp. About ten miles from
here the rebels make a little stir, by capturing a Union gunboat and
about one hundred men. President Lincoln orders a Draft of 500,000
men to serve for three years or for the war ; and in the Northern States
the cold shivers run down the copperheads and cowards till their boot
heels freeze to the snow. " Hospital Steward Prescott taken sick to-day
with small-pox." Taggard.

Feb. 2. Tues. Cold, rainy ; very muddy. Reg. in camp. The re-
cent little mnvement of the enemy makes orders more strict in our camp.
The Thirteenth loses a good officer in the resignation of Lieut. Young.

232 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

First Lieutenant William H. H. Young was born in Barrington, N. H.,
May 15, 18o7, and at the breaking out of the war was engaged in busi-
ness in Roxbury, IVIass. He enlisted as a private Aug. 9, 1862, was
soon after a})pointed a recruiting officer for the State of New Hampshire,
and proceeding to his old home in Barrington he united with Lewis H.
Buzzell and Hubbard AV. Hall in recruiting and organizing Company F
in the Thirteenth. Sept. 19, 1862, Buzzell was nuistered in as Captain
of Company F ; Young as 1st Lieutenant, and Hall as 2d Lieutenant ;
their commissions from the Governor bearing date of Sept. 27, 1862.
Capt. Buzzell was taken very ill on the day of the muster, and for nearly
two months the command of Company F devolved upon Lieut. Young.
Capt. Buzzell rejoined the Company at Camp Casey near Fairfax Sem-
inary. When the Thirteenth moved to join the Army of the Potomac
under Gen. Burnside before Fredericksburg, Lieut. Young was left at
Camp Casey on account of sickness, but five days later he was, by order
of Gen. Casey, placed in charge of 283 enlisted men belonging to Col.
Wright's Brigade, and sent with them by boat to Aquia Creek. Already
broken in health, this care and labor ])rostrated him for several weeks,
and severe illness jirevented his engaging in the battle of Fredericksburg
and in the movements that followed.

From Jan. 30 to Feb. 7th, 1863, he served as Judge Advocate of a
regimental Court Martial. Again, May 26, 1863, he was appointed to
the same special duty, and still again, on June, 30, 1863, at Yorktown.
The latter was a ' Drum-head ' court, short, sharp and decisive. The
.cases tried at these regimental courts martial ^yere almost all for misde-
meanors under the crime of desertion. At Newport News he was for a
time placed in command of Company A. Here he had a severe attack
of malarial fever, and March 13th was sent to U. S. General Hospital at
Hampton, Va., reporting for duty again on May 14th, the Thirteenth then
removing from near Suffolk to Getty's Station. Company F had pre-
vious to this time united unanimously in a request for Lieut. Young's
promotion to the Captaincy, to take the place of Capt. Buzzell killed at
the battle of Providence Church Road ; but the condition of his health
would not warrant his remaining in active service, and the commission
was issued to Lieut. Forbush.

Continuing in the service, however, contrary to the advice of friends
and Surgeons, he took an active part in Gen. Dix's exi)edition up the
Peninsula to Hanover Junction in June and July 1863, commonly called
in irony the Blackberry Raid, but really one of the severest summer
marches made by infantry during the whole war. He was placed in
command of the rear-guard on the forced march from Horn's Quarters
to Ayletts — see July 5, 1863 — and at the halt there laid down from
sheer exhaustion, and slept for several hours on the ground of a cornfield
with no cover or jn'otection whatever, contracting acute rheumatism and
dysentery, which became chronic, and from which he has never fully re-
covered. On arriving in camp at Getty's Station, he was sent to Balfour

1864 CAMP GILMORE. 233

General Hospital, at Portsmouth, Va., for treatment. Here he tendered
his resignation, which was not accepted, but he was granted a leave of
absence for twenty days, which was afterwards extended to sixty days.
Returning to the Hospital at expiration of leave, he was examined by E.
B. Dalton, Surgeon in charge, and found unfit for active military service.
He again tendered his resignation, and on Feb. 2, 1864, he was honorably
discharged the service upon a Surgeon's certificate of disability.

In January 1863, three men deserted from the Regiment and were car-
ried as prisoners to Newport News. Believing that their action was hasty
and ill considered, Lieut. Young interested himself in their behalf, visited
them and finally succeeded in having them released without trial. All
three afterwards made good soldiers, performed their duties well in all
the subsequent battles in which the Regiment engaged, were promoted to
non-commissioned officers, were mustered out with the Regiment in June
1865, and still bear the scars of wounds received in honorable service.

Feb. 3. Wed. Pleasant, cool. Reg. in camp. Pay-rolls signed,
and a part of the Reg. paid off.

Feb. 4. Thurs. Cool, windy. Reg. in camp. Paid off for four
months by Maj. R. C. Walker. Hosp. Steward R. B. Prescott sent to
small-pox Hospital sick with that disease. Is sick there seventeen days,
and finds it a fearful place ; probably he meets with the worst exjieri-
ence of his whole life. The Hospital is located near West Branch.

Feb. 5. Fri. Very pleasant. Reg. in camp.

Feb. 6. Sat. Pleasant. Reg in camp. The 13th furnishes the
outpost pickets in the swamjj, for this week. Capt. Farr returns to duty.
Capt. Forbush officer of the day, Lieut. Sawyer officer of the camp guard.
" Guard-mounting ceremony executed as well as in the Regular Ai-my."

It was a negro cabin much frequented by soldiers of the lower ty2)e,
and the source of much drunkenness, sickness and mischief generally,
and finally the decision was reached to break up the affair. In charge
of the posse sent to arrest the parties was a young and handsome Lieu-
tenant, but somewhat fat and ruddy, and rather short. He had no sooner
entered the cabin than he was seized by a strong and quite good-look-
ing young negro wench, spry and lithe as a cat. She threw both of her
arms around him, under his own arms, and gave him a hug like a bear,
exclaiming : " O my nice little man ! O my nice little man ! " and
much more of the same appreciative sort. In the struggle to be free from
her, he fell, and they both came to the floor ; when there ensued an ex-
hibition of Anglo-African wrestling and struggling altogether past de-
scription. They waltzed procumbent all over the room, kicking over the
chairs and tables, breaking dishes, covering the floor with food, butter,
slops and water ; getting into the fireplace, scattering the ashes, and
becoming both of them thoroughly bedaubed with the dirt upon the
floor. It was a regular cat and dog tussle. Finally the Lieutenant
won the battle, and the cabin, its contents and its crew went speedily be-
yond further opportunities for mischief in our vicinity. On the return to

234 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

camp the Lieutenant reported the party's success to his Colonel ; but
requested that some other officer might be sent to " mop up the next old
negro cabin that must be cleaned out."

Feb. 7. Sun. Cloudy, lowery, chilly. Usual Sunday morning in-
spection, and parade at sundown. Chas. H. Tarbell of B discharged to
receive a commission in a colored regimeut. Eleven men of the Thir-
teenth have been thus commissioned. Lieut. Murray detailed as aide-de-
camp on the staff of Col. Steere commanding our Brigade.

Feb. 8. Mon. Fair. Reg. in camp. The colored men enlist very
freely. They often choose the arm of service which they enter from
their fancy for certain colors ; some preferring one color, some another
— choosing the infantry for its blue, the artillery for its red, the cavalry
for its yellow. When a young negro has enlisted, and returns in full
regimentals, to bid his friends good-bye, he struts like a turkey cock, and
bubbles over with grinning chuckles, while the old men and women throw
up their hands with a hundred benedictions, the girls languish for a
glance of his eye, and the children run after him in wonder, with theu*
mouths and eyes wide open. The whole negro race seems to be gov-
erned by instinct, rather than by reason.

Feb. 9. Tues. Fair. Reg. in camj). Very little doing nowa-
days. A large number of men, however, are to-day at work on the main
road from camp to Portsmouth ; covering a long piece of the old road
bed with heavy corduroy. It is heavy business, we are using large logs
and very long ones.

Feb. 10. "Wed. Fair. A detail at work on the defenses. A special
picket sent to the outposts. There was a rousing Republican political
meeting held in camp last night. A man of Co. H confined temporarily
in the guard-house is taken sick with small-pox. His misdemeanor is
necessarily excused for a season.

Feb. 11. Thurs. Fair. Regular monthly inspection in camp by
Lieut. Geo. A. Bruce. " All looked first-rate," he says.

Feb. 12. Fri. Fair, windy. Part of Reg. at work on the defenses.
Another case of small-pox in Co. H.

The outpost picket from the Thirteenth located at the 9th mile-stone on
the S. & R. Railroad have their reserve tent pitched n})on a ])latform
made of railroad ties placed on stringei-s thrown across the railroad ditch,
which is three or four feet deep, nearly dry, and is used as a recei)tacle
for all waste and odd scraps of rations thrown away. One night the
reserve were awakened by sundry sounds of snuffing, eating and gnawing
beneath their tent, and one of the men went out cautiously to investigate
the cause. Just as he had stooped into the ditch to look beneath the
tent, there was a short series of grunting growls, and a sudden rush of
two animals past him, hitting and nearly knocking him over in their
haste; two nearly full grown black bears driven by hunger were having
a quiet midnight lunch, that was all — but the investigator's hair went on
end, and would scarcelv comb down smooth again for a week.

1864 CAMP GILMORE. 235

Feb. 13. Sat. Fair. Reg. in camp. One man of the 13th writes :
" Coming- here to camp from home is much hke moving from one promi-
nent place, mentioned in Scripture, down to another."

Feb. 14. Sun. Cloudy, disagreeable day. Usual Sunday duties.

Feb. 15. Mon. Cloudy, rainy. Reg. resumes daily drill. Capt.
Bettou of K sick in his quarters with small-pox. Small-pox very preva-
lent at Norfolk ; a low type, resembling varioloid, but occasionally violent.
The disease has continued among the citizens about here for a year past.
Capt. Smith leaves camp for Concord on recruiting service ; the wife of
Capt. Forbush, and other ladies, leave camp for home, under his escort.
Lieut. Staniels placed in command of Company H.

Feb. 16. Tues. Cold, a regular gale of wind. Tlie army sings
many songs and hymns, but the song of ' Old John Brown ' is the favorite
song of all ; and always sounds best when sung with the extra note at
beginning, and one of the best verses is as follows :

'' Old John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the ground.

His soul is marching on.
On John Brown's grave the heavenly stars look kindly down,

His soul goes marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah. Glory, gloiy, halle-hallelujah.

Glory, glory, hallelujah,

His soul is marching on."

Feb. 17. "Wed. Fair ; coldest day of the season. Company drill.
The outposts are so far from camp that pickets go out for a week at a
time. Some men and officers volunteer to remain, and stay out two weeks ;
preferable to dull camp life. Asst. Surgeon Morrill thrown from his
horse and severely injured.

Feb. 18. Thurs. Fair, very cold, a high northwest wind. Snow
and dust are having a lively high dance aU throughout camp, A little
fall of snow to-night.

Feb. 19. Fri. Fair, cold. New Berne being invested ; Gen. Peck
is there ; every hour we expect to hear the officers-call, from the Colonel's
Hdqrs., and the publishment of orders to proceed at once to New Berne.
There is a ripple of excitement every time a mounted aide comes into
camp. The Thirteenth prefers to join the Army of the Potomac.

Feb. 20. Sat. Fair ; very cold. The poor Subs have as many
nicknames as characters, and all as ugly. The name applied to them
most is the " boughten men," that is men who have been bought with a
price in money. There are, however, among them some veiy excellent
soldiers, brave, trusty and prompt. *

Feb, 21. Sun. Fair, cold. Usual Sunday duties. Five more com-
missions fall to men of the Thirteenth for positions in colored regiments
— sixteen in all. " Pi-escott returned to Reg. to-day from the small-pox
Hospital." Taggard.

Feb. 22. Mon. Fair, warmer. No drill. Reg. in camp. In ref-

236 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

erence to rations it may be well to say that they ai-e issued, in accordance
with the su2)i)ly, for periods ranging from one day to ten days. There is
an immense amount of waste caused by rations spoiling after they are
issued, and before they can be consumed.

Feb. 23. Tues. Fair. fine. Reg. drills forenoon and afternoon.
Asst. Surgeon Morrill goes home on sick leave.

Feb. 24. "Wed. Fair. Company drill forenoon. Battalion drill
afternoon. Dress-parade at sundown.

Feb. 25. Thurs. Fair. Drill all day. Dress-parade at sundown.
A case of small-])ox in Co. F.

Feb. 26. Fri. Very windy, very dusty. Usual drills all day.
George T. Woodward, David E. Proctor, and Charles B. Saunders, all of
B, receive their commissions in colored regiments.

Toward evening a fire, fanned by this hard southwest wind, breaks all
bounds in the slashing, in front of our works, south of the Suffolk main
road in the swamp, and the whole Reg turns out on the double-quick to
put it out. The fire, however, soon gets into the logs, which we have
piled up for a breast-work, to be manned by the 13th in case of a rebel
attack — see Aug. 20, 1863 — and destroys a long stretch of them. After
burning over an area of the slashing more than a mile square — near
to the front and left of Fort Rodman — the fire, roaring terrifically
and unapproachable, suddenly takes a new direction, the wind changing,
and surges over into the standing timber also. The slashing is dense,
heavy, very dry, and the mass of flame is simply tremendous, and in both
the slashing and forest presents a magnificent display as night comes on.
Hunting out the huge bull pines, their sides besmeared with pitch, the
fire leaps in a moment to their very tops, perhaps a hundred feet, and
they become literally pillars of fire.

Feb. 27. Sat. Fair, cold. No drill. Reg. resting — tired from
fighting the fire. Lieut. Thompson of E with about 50 men watched all
last night by the fire in the swamp ; coming into camp about daylight
looking like a gang of coal-heavers, and pretty well used up. They could
accomplish little, however, in the way of checking the blaze. A great
number of unexploded shells, thrown into the timber in the gunner}; prac-
tice, were bursting, all night, providing showers of chunks of iron ; but
one man was hit. however, and he more scared than hurt. The fire origi-
nated near a white trash cabin ; purposely set or not, no one can tell.

Feb. 28. Sun. Very windy. Usual Sunday duties. Many citi-
zens hereabout wish above all things that affairs Avere now the same as
five years ago — sick of secession. Public men. however, do not change ;
one minister in Norfolk preaches too much in favor of secession, and is
sentenced to work as a street-sweeper for three months.

Feb. 29. Mon. Cold, rainy. Reg. mustered for pay by Col. O.
Kuse, Jr., of the 118th N. Y. Fight at Deep Creek — a skirmish. The
118th N. Y., 10th N. H. and a force of cavalry sent down this morning.
We are ordered to be in readiness to move.

18C4

CAMP GILMORE. 237

On the whole February has been generally a delightful month, so far as
the weather has been concerned. Duties have been light, the men kept
busy without any especially hard work. Our quarters are excepti(|^ially
fine. If any one is sick, he is removed to our finely arranged and ap-
pointed regimental Hospital — built under the immediate supervision of
Surgeon S. A. Richardson — and elegant in point of architecture and con-
venient in plan. If any one is turbulent, he is placed in our log-made
guard-house, a roomy and attractive building, to cool ofF. If any one is
" sad and sorry," he has convenient choice of three fine theatres near by,
one of them also all our own. If any one is religiously inclined, he will
find these theatre buildings well filled by religious meetings assembling on
every Sunday. In fact the camp is a model winter quarters for an army.
There is a great deal of singing in camp — never so much before. Our
regimental Band plays very finely indeed, and serenades are frequent.
Many of the officers' families are in camp, and receptions and riding
parties are fashionable and numerous. We have had a brother of the
actor, Henry C. Barnabee, in the Thirteenth — evidently a chip of the
family block. A concert or a play can be put on the boards at a few hours'
notice, by our numerous village amateurs and glee clubs ; lady visitors in
camp often taking parts. In short our winter camp much resembles a
New England village, just a little over-stocked with men, and the children
away on a visit.

March 1. Tues. Sunshine and showers. Usual drill. A large de-
tail from the Thirteenth works the most of the day repairing the log
breast-works burnt out by the late fire in the swamp. These commence a
little south of Ft. Rodman and the Suffolk road, and continue, across a
very wet place, for half a mile or more. The men, dressed for the work
in old cast-off clothing, retui'n to camp as snmtty as a regiment of charcoal
venders. Ap2)lications are made for the legal voters of the loth and 10th
N. H. to go home to vote at the New Hampshire annual election — a
twelve days' leave being required. The 8th Conn, return to camp here
from Veterans' furlough, having been absent for neaily a month. Half a
dozen Connecticut regiments have visited home this winter, and enjoyed a
grand good time. While the 8th Conn, has been absent, about 200 of its
men, chiefly Subs, have been training in the 10th N. H. It is said that
the 13th barely escaped a similar nuisance. Along the front, rebel guer-
illa parties are numerous and very troublesome. They attacked our
troops at Deep Creek yesterday, capturing a Lieutenant and several men.
The 10th N. H., 9th and 118th N. Y. and the 8th Conn., are under orders
to proceed immediately to that point, and the Thirteenth ordered to keep
in readiness to move at once.

March 2. Wed. -Fair. Usual drill. At Dress-parade this after-
noon the announcement is read that the officers and men named in the
applications of yesterday are granted twelve days' leave of absence —
from the 4th to the 16th of March — to go home and vote, their transpor-
tation free to their homes and return. All are to wear side-arms, and to

238 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

be on special duty and under military orders ; that is, the officers are to
take their sword and belt, and the men to take their bayonet and belt,
and are to wear them wherever they go, and when they vote. This is
done because threats have been made in New Hampshire, that the soldiers
should not come home and vote ; though each man is a legal voter in the
town where he goes to vote. The injustice of this threat is scandalous —
characteristic, however, of the copperheads. Lieut. Thompson of E dis-
tinctly remembers the satisfaction he experienced — and notes it here
merely as a common leminiscence with his comrades in other places —
while taking his squad of six men, himself and all ai-med as per order, up
to the polls in Durham, and all voting together the straight Republican
ticket. There was no need of arms in Durham, but men were there in the
town meeting who indulged in threats, and who would have jirevented these
seven soldiers from voting — though all of them were legal voters — if
they had dared to attempt their threatened opposition. The average able-
bodied stay-at-home, army shirk, and copperhead, has no appetite for cold
steel taken endwise. This is noted as a picture of the times. Under the
caption 'Voters.' we will follow this expedition to their homes and return.

March 3. Tliurs. Fair. Cai)t. Stoodley, being the ranking officer
of the Thii'teenth, not joining in this voting expedition, takes command
of the part of the Reg. remaining in camp. Bullets and ballots are now
to shoot at the same target — The Slaveholder's Rebellion.

Voters, 390 officers and men of the Thirteenth and Tenth N. H. Vols,
take cars at 6 p. m., and are delayed until 1.30 a. m. of March 4th, when
we start for New Hampshire. Cheers aiid swinging of hats. Inasmuch
as the enemy is now threatening our front, there is much hesitancy about
sparing these 390 men just now ; and we have been neai-ly all day try-
ing to get out of camp, starting and halting several times. About 4 p. m.,
however, an orderly appears in camp with the welcome order for us to
take cars at once ; and we march to the station amid the cheers of sev-
eral thousand soldiers — and nearly as many of the colored people, who
somehow understand the meaning of our journey.

March 4. Fri. Pleasant. Reg. in camp. No drill. Orders arrive
for the Reg. to be ready to march at a moment's notice. Troops are
being landed at Norfolk and Portsmouth, and hurried forward to the
front near Suffolk ; including also the 23d Mass., a colored battery, and
a regiment of colored cavalry. They are easy and graceful riders ; a
negro sits a horse as if he and the horse were all in one piece.

Voters after a long delay leave Getty's Station at 1.30 a. m. to-day on
cars ; go to Portsmouth, and at 7 a. m. embark on the steamer ' Guide.'
They pass Fortress Monroe at 10 a. m. The sea very smooth.

March 5. Sat. Very pleasant. Reg. in camp, ready for an imme-
diate move. No passes granted to any one to leave camp. About 200
men only of the Thirteenth are now left in camp, and a\ ho are fit for
duty. These are consolidated in two companies, by order of our Brigade
commander. Capt. Betton commands one company, Caj)t. Forbush the

1864 CAMP GILMORE. 239

other ; Capt. Stoodley in command of the Reg. and camp. The Subs
regard this as their opportunity, and give any amount of trouble ; but
are handled with a quick severity that quiets their vicious ardor for a
season. We of New England never before saw such men as these.

March 6. Sun. Pleasant, cool. Reg. in camp. Large bodies of
troops moving past camp towards Suffolk. Four regiments of colored
infantry pass by ; and about 2,000 cavalry with Gen. Judson Kilpatrick
at their head, go forward to the front about noon. This movement
promises an early spring campaign. Heavy skirmishing last night, sev-
eral miles this side of Suffolk, with the advance of Stuart's rebel cavalry.
Gunboats are shelling the woods ; trains loaded with artillery are mov-
ing towards the front. It all reminds us of the siege of Suffolk.

Voters have it a little rough outside. They are due at Boston to-night,
but will not get there — too much bad weather. The Cajjtain of the
' Guide ' is suspected by some of disloyalty. There are two opinions, how-
ever. At any rate we move too slowly, even for the condition of the sea.

March 7. Mon. Fine day. Reg. in camp. The enemy has re-
tired, and our troo])s occupy Suffolk again. As quiet returns our troops
move back toward Norfolk, and to-day are passing our camp continually,
The 23d Mass. return to their camp — - our nearest neighbors. The most
of the men of the 13th left in camp volunteered to go on the picket lines
at the front, during the recent affair with the enemy near Suffolk.

Voters. The ' Guide ' comes to a dead standstill in a dense fog and
heavy rain storm, near Wood's Holl, this morning, and lays at anchor all
day. Out of patience, about 30 officers and men of the Thirteenth — in-
cluding Capt. Julian and the writer — leave the steamer and go on shore
in small boats. There they charter a cranky, schooner-like fishing smack,
and sail to Mattapoisett, after a terribly rough little voyage in Buzzard's
Bay ; and thence go by cars to Boston, arriving early this evening. The
' Guide ' secures a pilot, gets off about 6 p. m., and reaches Boston about
midnight. The Captain of the ' Guide ' is a Democrat, it is said. The fog
is very dense, but the delay exasperating. It is said that some of the
passengers, who remain aboard the steamer, threaten the Captain towards
night, and give him his choice to move at once for Boston, or they will
send him to Davy Jones's locker. He prefers Boston ; and moves as
soon as he can get up steam. A fui'ious northwest wind soon arises and
blows the fog out to sea.

March 8. Tues. Rainy. Reg. all quiet in camp. " In the theatre
built by the Thirteenth, at the minstrel performance, about 10 p. m., one
of our boys is stabbed in the bowels. Asst. Surgeon Sullivan treats the
case in our Hospital."

Voters debark at Boston at one a. m. The ' Guide ' ought to have
reached Boston Sunday night, March 6th. Those who left the ' Guide '
at Wood's Holl, and came up on the train from Mattapoisett, had a quiet
night, last night, with friends, in Boston. All go north on this morning's
trains. Those who go via the Boston & Maine Railroad, strike a wash-

240 THIllTEENTII NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

out at New Market, and are further delayed there, for two hours, and
have to walk half a mile or more to reach another train, backed down to
receive them, and the other passengers. Seven voters reach Durham at
11 a. m. and go to the polls, as ordered, wearing their swords, belts and
bayonets — side-arms. Many belonging to the interior towns of the State
lose all opportunity of voting, on account of the delay of the steamer in
Wood's llolh On the whole a hard, close piece of work, only about two
thirds of the whole party having an opportunity to vote. All go to their
homes for about one week's fuilough.

March 9. "Wed. Showery. Our pickets again driven in by the
enemy, and about twenty of our cavalrymen at the front are killed and
wounded. The 2d U. S. Colored Infantry have a severe brush with the
enemy near Suffolk. At 11 p. m. to-night the Thirteenth is called out
suddenly, is at the Station, a quai'ter of a mile from cainp, in twenty
minutes — quick work. Then rides in the cars, over a rickety road at a
breakneck sjjeed to Magnolia Station, and then marches back to Bowers
Hill, about five miles, nearly using up the night. The road very muddy.
The 13th for this trip is commanded by Capt. Stoodley, and is consoli-
dated in five companies of about forty men each, under Captains Farr,
Betton, Forbush and Carter, and Lieut. Staniels, and has 60 rounds of
ammunition per man. The 13th is joined by the 23d Mass., Col. Cham-
bers, and three companies of the 118th N. Y. Companies B and D are
relieved at Fort Tillinghast by a batteiy from the 18th N. Y. Heavy Artil-
lery, and move forward to the front near Bowers Hill.

March 10. Thurs. Showery. Reg. encamped at Bowers Hill,
Companies A, C, E, H, I and K, consolidated in three companies under
Ca])t. Betton, are ordered to the front, and march again to Magnolia
Springs. Last night's expedition was a regular rush, using up the night,
and as there is much heavy cannonading to-day at the front, the troops
are held under arms all day ; equipments on, blankets rolled, canteens
and haversacks filled — all ready for an instant move.

March 11. Fri. Rainy, cold. Capt. Betton's command returns
from Magnolia Springs to Bowers Hill. The rebels have again retired.
Their late action is regarded as a mere feint to cover the departure of
their immense provision and forage trains. They have stripped, robbed
and impoverished a vast extent of their own realm, carrying off every-
thing they could lay their hands upon, that could be of any possible use
to an army. Refugees report it a worst devastation than troops usually
make even in an enemy's country.

March 12. Sat. Fine day. The rebels have withdrawn from the
Suffolk front. The Thirteenth is relieved by the 118th N. Y., and
marches from Bowers Hill to camp down the main Suffolk road, now
wet, muddy, rough and terribly cut up by teams, cavalry and artillery.
"\Ye learn that hereafter a larger force is to be maintained in that most
uneasy place. Bowers Hill, and that we shall not again be called upon to
visit it as guards or pickets.

1864 CAMP GILMORE. 241

March 13. Sun. Clear, windy, dusty. Reg. in camp, and resting
from their hard jaunt up to the front and back. The Subs behaved very
well indeed on this occasion while at the front. Some of them are very
fine soldiers. They are most troublesome in camp. The 23d Mass. with
artillery is left at the front. During this whole breezy little affair the
portion of the Thirteenth left in cam}), in the absence of the voters, is
divided up arbitrarily into little provisional companies.

March 14. Mon. Pleasant. Reg. in camp. Every man held in
readiness for any emergency. President Lincoln calls for 200,000 more
men — this makes 700,000 in six weeks. We are a part of a mighty
army, one of the greatest ever marshaled in the history of the world —
and we could whip the numberless host of Xerxes' barbarians in fifteen
minutes, and before we got within a mile of them.

March 15. Tues. Pleasant. Reg. in camp — enjoying squad drill
by way of diversion. Surgeon Richardson ordered on duty at our Bri-
gade Hdqrs.

Voters leave Concord this morning at 10 o'clock, and go via Law-
rence to Boston, arriving at 2 p. m. Embark on the steamer ' Guide,'
at the foot of State street, in the afternoon — a close connection by many
and some are left behind — and at 4.30 p. m. cast off for the ' sacred
soil ' of the Dismal Swamp in Virginia.

March 16. Wed. Clear, cold. Squad drill. Major Grantman
returns to the Regiment.

Voters have a lively shaking up while weathering the cape and the isl-
and region ; stormy, cold, and the sea rough. '' Lieutenant, hold up,
you swear too much." " No Cap. you misunder-(hic) hear me ; I never
use profane 1 — (hie) liquor." That was what he said, as he walked
the deck straight as a bee line. A drunken man and a drunken ship in
their union of movement constitute absolute steadiness.

March 17. Thurs. Pleasant. Squad drill, amid clouds of dust.

Voters having a quiet trip. The ' Guide ' sails about as swiftly as mo-
lasses runs in winter. A story goes the rounds aboard that a rebel cruiser
knows of our voyage, and is waiting to swoop down upon us from the
high seas, and gobble us all up, or down, as suits his temper best. A
delightful nightmare to sleep with, and some there are, who are not a
little scared by it. However, we pass Fortress Monroe to-night at mid-
night in safety.

March 18. Fri. Pleasant. Squad drill. Laura Keene playing at
Norfolk. Many soldiers attend. The 10th N. H. goes to Great Bridge,
15 miles distant. They are to engage there in picket and scouting duty,
and in fighting guerillas. Asst. Surgeon Morrill reports for duty from
sick-leave, though not fully recovered.

Voters leave Fortress Monroe about noon, debark at Portsmouth, and
arrive in camp at 3 p. m. — two days late. A furlough of fourteen days ;
two splendid ocean voyages ; an enjoyment of the glorious right of suf-
frage ; a lift at the wheels of Government ; and a smart rap on the cop-

242 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

perheads' knuckles — all free of cost to us. Quite a number of the
voters are now arrested for absence without leave, when they could in no
way avoid it ; all passes over, however — and we again settle down to
the business of holding the United States together.

March 19. Sat. Pleasant. Reg. is whole again. No drill. Dress-
parade at sundown. And now, in the spring sunshine, the former slave-
boy, having passed into the Union, through yonder picket line and stock-
ade-gate, stands a Freeman ; dons the waiting uniform — yellow, red or
blue — of his choice, becomes a proud Union soldier, and begins to earn
greenbacks ; and glowing resplendent — almost — of color, eyes and
ivory, well blacked shoes and new shining buttons, salutes you with a
jolly " Goo'-mornin' ! " Bless us, how many such a happy one we have
seen in these last few weeks ! "• Out of the Confederacy " — " Into the
Union " means a Avhole new world to them.

March 20. Sun. Pleasant. Reg. in camp ; usual Sunday duties.

Voters who failed to reach the ' Guide ' befoie she left the wharf in
Boston have come straggling into camp, to be promptly put under arrest
for absence without leave, but nothing comes of it. The number is but
small. The absentees must needs be regarded as on duty all the time
until their return to camp. There is no evidence of their endeavoring to
shirk ; and their time is reckoned as ' lost in action.' This is the last item
of a very pleasant little journey undertaken to teach copperheads silence
and subordination.

March 21. Mon. Cold, windy. Company drill. Half a dozen
men and officers tramp to Norfolk, four miles, to serve as witnesses at a
court martial.

" Three officers and 113 men sent to Portsmouth last night to serve on
provost-guard duty." Lieut. Taggard.

" Receive orders at 11 p. m., March 20th, to take charge of one hun-
dred men, to go to Portsmouth and relieve the 4th R. I., now doing pro-
vost-guard duty there. We start at 12 p. m., and relieve the 4tli R. I.
at 1.30 a. m., March 21st." Lieut. Staniels.

March 22. Tues. Severe snow storm with high wind ; nearly
eight inches of snow falls. The guards and pickets have to tramp through
it, two long hours at a stretch. We never saw a worse snow storm in
New Hampshire so late in March. Reg. fortunately in camp. These
snow storms appear to come here in local showers (literally streaks).
Eight inches in depth of snow falls here ; a mile away fifteen inches are
reported, a little farther away, none at all. Companies B, Capt. Dodge,
and D. Capt. Farr, which have been serving as Heavy Artillery and
garrison at Fort Tillinghast since August 1, 1863, to-day rejoin the
Regiment. As Caj^t. Dodge — ' Old Father ' — puts it : " Returned
from exile in Siberia." Capt. Smith, who has been detached on recruit-
ing service at Concord, has been relieved at his own request, and returns
to duty in the Regiment.

This region has many very estimable ladies, and the writer may be

1864 CAMP GTLMORE. 243

pardoned for mentioning one of them, a young lady of perhaps eighteen
years, Miss Edith Baker, daughter of Mr. Savage Baker, residing at
Hall's Corner, a mile or so west of Portsmouth, their home called '• Rose-
dale," a family from Eastern Shore, Md. Inheriting several slaves with
an estate, she promptly gave them their liberty. Finding many children
in the neighborhood of Portsmouth unable to attend the public school —
if there is any — she gathers them into a free private school, and be-
comes their teacher. Many a sick soldier — Union and Confederate alike
— has received aid at her hand ; and in return both citizens and soldiers
grant the family every possible favor.

March 23. Wed. Stormy, clears at night. The wind has blown
a gale for twenty-four hours, upsetting tents and blowing down chimneys.
Reg. in camji. Instead of drill, we have snow-balling. Thousands of
men at it all over camp. Quarter-master Morrison leaves for liome this
morning. The voters on their return are put on duty at once to a man,
and given the worst places, so as to relieve the soldiers and Subs who re-
mained in camp. Capt. Goss returns to the Reg. to-night.

" My chimney smoked last night so that I could not see ; so I took the
fire-bi-ands and threw them out of doors, and went to bed.'' Prkscott.

This was the experience of nearly half the entire camp, the driving-
rain and the water from the melting snow, washing out the mud mortar
of the chimneys and rendering them useless, while the water leaked and
dripped in through every crack and cranny of the huts and tents.

March 24. Thurs. Clear, cold, windy. Reg. in camp. Nothing
doing except repairing quarters injured in the late storm. Too much
snow for drill ; but the fun at snow-balling is enlisting everybody from
drummer-boy to general. Everybody takes a hand, and the soldiers
take sides, all up and down on the camp's main street ; long lines of ac-
tive men, so far as one can see — squads, companies, regiments. No
school-boy play ; but a l)attle to win in dead earnest, with solid shot at
close quartei's.

The Thirteenth is gratified to learn that George H. Taggard, its Com-
missary Sergeant, is to receive a commission as Second Lieutenant in
Company F.

All officers and men return from their visits to the North much im-
proved in health, appearance and weight, showing clearly the difference
in effect between the Northern climate and good food and shelter, and
these army rations, half housings, army life and exposures, and this soft
climate and flat, enervating, tide water, stagnant water region of pestifer-
ous forests and generally pervading rot ; all together engendering dis-
eases that kill and destroy faster than all the rebel bullets and shells.

From the high tone of bravado and defiance that early characterized
much of the Southern war-poetry it has dropped to bitterness and the
tone of a desperate and almost hojjeless struggle, and to pathos, religion
and epitaph strangely mingled. That much of the Southern war-poetry
is wonderfully brilliant none can deny.

244 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

Of the thousands of Northern war-poems, many of them from the most
gifted pens, and marches and songs, not one in a hundred finds a respon-
sive echo in our army, and is sung, repeatedly read or committed to
memory. The poetry of a people perhaps exhibits the spirit of the times
more clearly and deeply than their prose ; but the Northern army needs
no stirring up, no special incitement to great deeds, and the poetry
written with that end in view falls a dead, flat failure. The patriotism of
this army exceeds the patriotism at home, average for average.

March 25. Fri. Pleasant, quite warm, too much snow and mud
for drill. Every brigade in the Confederate army has a special corps of
sharp-shooters, about 200 men, armed with Whitworth and Enfield rifles.
They are the first in an advance, the last in a retreat. Practically a band
of robbers ; taking all that is of value from every Union soldier whom
they kfll or capture, and are systematically encouraged in the privilege —
guerillas in action, if not in name.

March 26. Sat. Rainy last night, and a cold, windy, disagreeable
day to-day. The camp a world of mud, snow and slush.

This is a dull sort of a day in camp, and we may as well tell what
happened to a pair of horses — as we hear the tale. Two mounted offi-
cers in a near department had spirited and valuable horses ; and as
they are too smart to stand second anywhere, they want their horses to
be in the warmest place on a certain steamer, and so take them well up
forward, tie them securely, feed them and leave them. Next in the
rear of these two horses come the Government mules. In the morning
— by the bright light — when these two fine horses are taken ofP the
steamer, it is discovered that the mules have, during the night, gnawed
the hair entirely off the tails of both of them, leaving an ungainly whitish
caudal prod sticking straight out behind, not good as against the flies — or
for anything at all. Everybody knows that when the spurs are struck to
a horse, the first thing he does is to elevate his tail ; so these two army
horses do duty for one day at least, with their tails working jerky -like,
up and down, like a pair of stubby, white pump-handles. Now a horse
with a perfectly hairless tail is not a thing of especial beauty, or a joy
forever, to any man, on high gi"and parade in close conjunction with him-
self a brilliant staff officer — such a bald-headed tail on his horse utterly
spoils the generally elegant, bold, centaural effect. There is no way out
of it now but a wig, or peeling the entire hide off both horses. Two
dead horses' tails are sought, made into rear chignons, or wigs — a false
hair show anyhow — are tied on, and so worn until the new hair grows
out. But at first the whole camp smiled aloud.

March 27. Siin. Cold. Usual Sunday duties. Lieut. Oliver re-
turns to camp from home : bringing with him a 2d Lieutenant's Com-
mission for Commissai'v Sergt. George H. Taggard. Capt. Smith returns
to the Reg. from New Hampshire.

March 28. Mon. Fair. Squad and Company drill. Three Lieu-
tenants and above 100 men, from the 13th, have been detached as a

1864 CAMP GILMORE. 245

Provost-guard in and about the city of Portsmouth. Hardly men enough
left in camp to properly guard it. Details called for in every direction.

March 29. Tues. Cloudy morning and rainy night. Cold. Reg.
in camp. '' Worst rain storm of the season ; everything flooded ; chim-
neys blown down ; roofs and walls of our houses are like sieves," writes
a man of the Thirteenth.

March 30. Wed. Cold, windy and wet. Reg. in camp. Company
drill. The 13th furnishes men for an interior picket line, at the junction
of the Dee]} Creek and Gosport roads, two miles from camp and half a
mile fi'om Gosport. Capt. Dodge has had much to do on this line, and
knows every resident within a wide circuit ; and is an authority upon their
moral, mental and secessional conditions.

March 31.^ Thurs. Fair. Reg. in camp. Squad and Company
drill — bad. Lieut. Charles H. Curtis of C has been serving for a couple
of long terms as Judge Advocate of courts martial ; first, in the last part
of the summer of 1863, at Portsmouth, Va., followed by a leave of ab-
sence to visit home in the fall ; second, upon his return from leave, by
special order of Gen. Butler, in the winter of 1863-4, at Norfolk, Va.
Because of long residence, and extensive acquaintance, in these cities,
and eminent fitness for the position, he is placed in command of a Pro-
vost-guard, at Portsmouth, consisting of two Lieutenants — Dustin and
Sherman of the 13th, excellent men for the place — and one hundred
picked men, all of the 13th. The Reg. furnished this detail on March
20th ; all the Companies being equally represented in it, after the ranks
of the Reg. had been filled by the return of Companies B and D from
Fort Tillinghast on March 22d. For an account of the steamship disas-
ter to this detachment, see May 11, 1864.

April 1. Fri. Chilly, foggy, rainy, misty, windy, muddy, slopjiy and
in general a ' foolish ' sort of day. Reg. in camp. No drill. Col.
Stevens returns to the Reg. this p. m. ; has been absent at Concord, Hil-
ton Head and New Orleans since December, engaged in re-enlisting the
3(1, 4th and other New Hampshire regiments. Mrs. Stevens accompanies
him to camp. Gen. Grant comes to Norfolk by boat, but does not land.

April 2. Sat. Very rainy. Reg. in camp. No drill. Lieut.
Durell returns to the Reg. Has been absent since December ; now re-
turns a married man.

April 3. Sun. Cold, raw, cloudy. Morning inspection, and at

^ It may be well to note some of the rapid changes in this month : February 29th
Congress revived the grade of Lieutenant General ; March 3d this official title was
conferred upon Maj. Gen. U. S. Grant, then at Nashville, Tenn., in command of the
Army of the Tennessee. March 0th he arrived in Washington, was duly invested,
and on March 11th returned to Nashville, where he assumed command of the Armies
of the United States, relieving Maj. Gen. H. W. Halleck. March 19th Lieut. Gen-
eral Grant leaves Nashville, after reorganizing the Western and Southern Armies ;
and on arriving East, on March 24th he reorganized the Army of the Potomac, Maj.
Gen. Geo. G. Meade retaining command. Henceforth Lieut. General Grant is chief in
command, next the Presidentj of all the armies of the United States.

246 TEIIIITEENTII NEW IIAMPSIIIRE REGIMENT. 1864

evening a Dress-])ara(le. Col. Stevens assumes command of the Regi-
ment. One Captain in the 13th writes : " Two of my ' Subs ' are going
into the navy, two are in jail, one is locked up wearing a ball and chain,
and one is in the small-pox pest-house." This is the sort of timber that
represents sundry men in New Hampshire who have more money than
courage ; and therefore do not volunteer, and when diafted hire this
material for substitutes. Not an unfair representation, perhaps.

April 4. Mon. Cold, cloudy. Reg. in camp. Nothing doing.
Twenty-four men go to Fortress ]\Ionroe for examination — to be trans-
ferred to the navy ; mostly Subs of the uneasiest kind.

April 5. Tues. Heavy thunder showers. Reg. in camp. Nothing
doing. All along here, as usual, regular details go on picket, in the
swamp, near Portsmouth, at Deep Creek, Scott's Creek, etc. We have a
severe April thunder storm. A part of the pickets near the Gosport road
take refuge from the storm in the buildings of one Mr. Ivy. He has one
son at least in the rebel army, and a spirited daughter of pronounced
secesh opinions, but with a pretty face and name — Nettie Ivy. The
Southern people of every station, exhibit great taste in the selection of
names for their children.

April 6. Wed. Bad weather. The pickets are having a rough
time of it. Not one warm, agreeable, sunny day for a fortnight or more ;
everything drenched.

April 7. Thurs. Fair. In the Reg. now, turns of special duty
come every fifth day — officer of the day, officer of the guard, etc. — all
well mingled with jaunts on picket. There is no pleasure in being kejit
awake all of one night in every four or five, and tramping half the night
in the wet and brush and mud.

April 8. Fri. Fair. Fifteen hundred men are being selected from
this Department for transfer to the navy. They are allowed to volunteer.
The call enlists some of our worst Subs, and a few unhandy volunteers,
for whom army life is too tame.

April 9. Sat. Rainy. Reg. in camp. Burwell, photographer,
Norfolk, makes a specialty of taking pictures of soldiers for their sweet-
hearts at home, and thrives on the business. Proving Tennyson's line :
" In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love."

On hundreds of passes the line is written, " requests a pass to visit

the ])hotogj'apher's in Norfolk ; " and that is just now a fashionable cover
for all errands to the city.

April 10. Sun. Pleasant, showers. Forenoon inspection, after-
noon parade. "These insj)ections are an invention of the Adversary, to
cause good men to swear on Sunday." So one soldier writes. Our Bri-
gade is now detached, and doing about all the i)icket, guard, garrison and
provost duty in the entire circuit of this post and camp. Other troops are
drilling and preparing for active service. To-day Mrs. Capt. Dodge,
Adjt. Boutwell, Musician Critchley and Chaplain Jones make up our
' Theatre Church ' choir ; so called because the theatre building is occupied
by a religious meeting on Sundays.

1864

CAMP GILMORE. 247

As the spring advances the prospect of severe contests rises clearer
before us, and the Union Army is ready for them. The great will of the
North has resolved that the Union shall be restored in peace, that slavery
shall utterly cease and be gone ; and tliat the battle shall stay on these
alone. The soldiers are in full sympathy and accord with that will, and
of course must do the necessary work, hence a stern determination united
with enthusiasm pervades the Union Army. The fearful experiences of
the Fredericksburg battle and camp are overlooked or out of mind, as
well as minor disagreeables ; and practical and effective patriotism rules
the hour, with strong wills and physiques to back it.

April 11. Mon. Warm. Reg. in camp. Signs of an immediate
move. The mail service here is abominable. Three days ought to bring
our mail from Boston here ; but letters come along anywhere from four to
twelve days late — any time that best suits the careless, lazy mail, or the
mail-censor at Norfolk.

Nothing can exceed, or describe, the pathetic scenes connected w ith the
soldiers' mail. A letter is opened by a man, and gives the news of his
child's, wife's, or near relative's death, sudden and unexpected. He in-
stantly seems to shrink w^ithin himself ; and goes to his tent in silent,
hopeless sorrow, as a man in chains, and mourns for many days. He is
not soon, if ever again, the man he was. Another suddenly learns that
his wife has been unfaithful to him. He crushes the letter in a nervous
grasp, and almost seems to sink into the ground. In a few days he has
turned into a dullard or a brute ; and he is never again the man he was.

April 12. Tues. Pleasant. Reg. in camp. Quarter-master Mor-
rison returns to camp from home. Our Brigade moves out to the drill
ground, west of camp, to drill ; but we are driven in by a shower. Just
about the time when the Thirteenth is quietly settled down for the night,
between 10 and 11 p. m., the ' Long-roll ' resounds throughout the camp.
In less than half an hour — one says in less than twenty minutes — the
13th is formed in line and arrives at the railroad station, a quarter of a
mile distant. A regular rush, but all in perfect order. We go by rail to
near Magnolia Springs, there leave the cars and march to near Suffolk,
and there lie on our arms all the rest of the night.

To those who do not know what the Long-roll is, we will say that on
every drum in camp, great and small, an incessant roll is beaten, as loudly
as the drums will bear, and continuing until the troops are all roused and
in line. While pouring all through a large camp at dead of night, it
would rouse the fabled Seven Sleepers themselves. It is the night call to
arms and battle, and the wildest sound known to an army.

April 13. Wed. Fair, warm. The Thirteenth marches early this
morning to its old camp-ground near Suffolk — had in March and April
1863 — now looking forlorn enough, and remains there during the day
and to-night. Pickets are posted on old familiar ground, but no enemy
appears as then. We miss the stir and noise of the siege. Capt. Gi'ant-
man, on court martial duty at Portsmouth, rode up with our mail last

248 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

night, and overtook the Reg. on the road heyond Magnolia Station — a
long, hard ride. The Thirteenth has never been so healthy as now. The
regiriiental Hospital is almost empty, and the Surgeon's-call is but little
attended.

April 14. Thurs. Warm, clear. The 13th breaks camp at Suffolk,
at daylight, and in comjiany with the 23d and 27th Mass., and the 8th
Conn., all in light marching order, and about 1,700 cavalry, marches up
through Suffolk, and 11 miles beyond ; then turns to the right tow^ard the
Isansemond and moves down until noon ; and then returns at night to its
old camp of May 1863, near Jericho Creek, two or three miles below Suf-
folk. A march of about 30 miles. The men endure the long march very
weU indeed, though in one spurt we march 15 miles in four hours. IMany
fall out of the ranks. The whole coast, full of inlets, rivers and bays, is
infested by smugglers and guerillas, and especially about Smithfield and
Chuckatuck ; and a combined naval and military exj^edition is now made
to break up their combinations. The outposts report seeing a body of rebel
cavaliy and infantry, estimated to number some five or ten thousand men,
but not near enough to bring about a collision with our immediate force,
and we of the Thu'teenth serve merely as a support. The 118th N. Y.,
Col. Keyes, crosses the Nansemond at Halloway's Point.

Lieut. Taggard christened his new shoulder straps by going on his first
duty, as officer of the camp-guard, on the morning of April 12th, and re-
maining in charge of camp during the absence of the Regiment, until this
morning — 48 hours.

April 15. Fri. Warm, fair. Tliirteenth called at one o'clock a. m.
We take cars and return to Camp Gilmore, arriving about 5 a. m. ; all
pretty well tired out by the long hurried march, and the loss of sleep.
The recent expedition might be called a reconnaissance in force by cavalry,
supported by infantry ; the latter expected to keep up with the horses,
and to halt for a rest only when the men on horseback get tired.

'' April 12th ; called out at 10 p. m.. take cars for ' Horse Hospital,'
where we laid down for the remainder of the night. 13th ; we go up to
the old camp-ground and stop over night. 14th ; we fall in at 5 a. m.,
start upon a reconnaissance at 5.30, cross the creek at 7.30, and proceed
tow-ards Smithfield. Halt at 11 a. m. for dinner. Start upon return at
12.30 p. m. Arrive at Jericho Creek at 6 \). m., and encamp. 15th ; ar-
rive in camp at Getty's Station at 5 a. m." Lieut. Stanikls.

" Thirteenth was called by the Long-roll at 10 p. m. April 12th, a
dark and stormy night. The Regiment was in line in ten minutes after
the alarm was given. Took 60 rounds per man of ball-cartridge. Went
aboard open platform cars at Getty's Station. Got off about midnight.
Arrived at Magnolia Springs (6 miles east of Suffolk) at 2.30 a. m.
Ground very wet. Marched about 7 a. m. — April 13th — to Jericho
Creek (li miles east of Suffolk). Here the 13th loaded their muskets.
We crossed Jericho bridge and went up the hill into Main street, Suffolk,
now a deserted town. Passed the night of April 13th on our camp-ground

1864 CAMP GILMORE. 249

of a year ago. April 14th went out on the Cross Keys road, crossed
Miller's Creek, and marched to within half a mile of Chuckatuck Creek.
Passed the quarters of many thousands of Gen. Longstreet's men, of a
year ago. Arrived back at Suffolk at night, moved down and camped
at Jericho Creek. Men much used up. In a couple of hours or so the
bugle sounded : ' Fall in.' We marched to the railroad, mounted open
platform cars again, and coming back slowly, with frequent stops, arrived
at Getty's Station about daylight. A cold night, following a hot day."

Pkescott.

April 16. Sat. Some sunshine and much rain. Thii'teenth in
camp. Inspected by Lieut. George A. Bruce. Paid off to Feb. 29th by
Major Greene. More recruits arrive for the Reg. Asst. Surgeon John
Sullivan evidently thinks that the business of the Surgeon is to cure men.
He has reduced the sick list in the 13th to a shorter measure here than it
ever came before. The sick have been so few, and those few so far con-
valescent, that our regimental Hospital has been twice cleared this winter,
without danger or harm to the patients, and the Hospital used for mili-
tary balls, at which the Band of the 13th has furnished the music.

April 17. Sun. Showery, cloudy, murky, warmish. Insijection.
Religious services in the forenoon. Articles of War read to the Reg. by
Adjt. Boutwell at 2 p. m. Dress-parade at sundown. Orders received
to march to-morrow morning, with three days' cooked rations. The
pioneer-corps of the Reg. has been doubled in number, and provided with
axes, shovels and picks. Shelter tents are being issued to-day. Officers
are required by order to limit their baggage to a single valise for each
officer. Preliminaries to an active spring campaign.

April 18. Mon. Pleasant. Reg. in camp. Orders again arrive
this afternoon for the 13th .to break camp to-morrow morning at daylight,
and to march with three days' cooked rations, and to take all its camp
equipage. Rumor has it that we are going to Yorktown. The women
visiting in camp prepare to leave for their homes to-morrow. The theatre
closed with a stabbing affray, a Spaniard in Company H importing the
pleasantries of his native land.

April 19 to May 11, 1864.
SPRING CAMPAIGN.

April 19. Tues. Very pleasant day. Many officers and men
worked hard aU. last night. Much labor is required in breaking up a
camp occupied for so long a time as the Thirteenth has been in this one.
Reg. packs and sends away all its surplus baggage, takes down its tents
at 6 a. m., and bi'eaks up housekeeping in all respects. The most of the
log-houses remain intact, and are to be occupied by the negroes, or by
troops coming in upon this line of defenses. Good-bye, Camp Gilmore,
winter homes, and neighbors, gentle and ungentle.

The breaking up of this large camp is a sad scene. We have been on
this line eleven months. We know hundreds of comrades in neighboring
regiments, and nearly all the citizens far and near. We leave articles of
furniture, and household conveniences without numbei-. All must be left
or given away, scarcely anything can be sold. Friendly citizens are
freely remembered in the forced distribution. But confusion reigns : hun-
dreds of contrabands, all ages, are begging and pilfering, and carrying
off all they can hold in their ai'ms, or cram into their capacious bags and
pockets ; little teams, gathered here from the farms in the vicinity and
from Portsmouth suburbs, are aU about camp, driven by white natives,
and all being loaded with plunder gotten by stealing or begging ; many of
the soldiers are drunk ; bonfires are fed with numerous contrivances and
conveniences the men have made for themselves ; wives are parting from
husbands, while the hot tears fall — many of these partings are the last of
earth ; there are sweethearts here, too, not to be passed unmentioned ;
some of the houses, huts and tents are burning — and amid the bustle,
smoke and hot hurrying, the lines are formed, company by company, we
shoulder arms, turn our backs upon Camp Gilmore, give three rousing,
but not altogether spontaneous cheers, file through Mr. Bunting's well
trodden field into Portsmouth road, enter the woods, stumble over the
worn-out corduroy, and at 9 a. m. are away.

AVe arrive in Portsmouth, and embark on the steamer ' Escort,' at
noon. There is a great deal of delay with teams and baggage. At the
wharf, while trying to straighten out sundry irregular matters, Capt. For-
bush is pushed over])oard from the boat, has his lip and arm hurt, and is
obliged to return to camp for treatment. Lieut. Taggard succeeds to
the command of Company F. A man of the 13th, named Anderson, falls

1864 MARCH TO YORKTOWX. 251

into the dock and is badly hurt. Finally at 3 p. m. we are away again,
and at 5 p. m. land at Newport News. From there we march into the
country about three miles, and bivouac on the edge of the timber, in rear
of our old camp here of Febuary 18G3 in the barracks.

After all we are glad to be again upon the move. Of the 240 recruits
— substitutes and volunteers — received by the 13th last autumn and win-
ter, only about one half — and the best half — now remain with the Regi-
ment. A number of good men also have gone from among them — men
whose departure we have regretted.

April 20. Wed. Cool, clear, frosty, a little rain p. m. Last night
the water near our tents skimmed over with ice, and we had quite a cold
bivouac on the wet ground and in the little shelter tents open at one end.
We are called at 5 a. m., the day is clear and bright, and after a busy
morning we march at 9 a. m. in the direction of Yorktown, for ten or
twelve miles, and at 5 p. m. • encamp within the old rebel works at the
Run above Big Bethel and near Lee's Mills. Roads very muddy.

Some genius for averages has reached the conclusion, that the peoj^le
of the earth, in a savage state and out of contact with a higher civiliza-
tion, would have required six thousand years to reach the level of the re-
fined, educated and best class of the English and American people. This
century scale of sixty degrees of civilization — and the want of it — is
most convenient to use in judging of the events, the rabble, and the abomi-
nations of these last three days in this change of camps. Put the people in
their j^laces, when you estimate their graces. The black scion of slavery »
the denizen of the Dismal Swamp, the F. F. V., the Union volunteer, the
' Sub,' and the sublimely drunk have struck and mingled after a fasliion
of their own, and altogether too little resti'ained.

April 21. Thurs. Pleasant, but quite warm. Reg. called at 4 a.
m., marches at 6 a. m., arrives at Y'^orktown at 10 a. m., and encamps
at noon, on the plain about one mile from the town, and near where the
Hessians were buried. The roads are very muddy and rough and the
men have had to pick their way — for long distances — along Gen. Mc-
Clellan's ' miles of corduroy,' now badly rotted, broken and worn. A
storm of wind and rain comes up this afternoon, slackens our linen tents,
rips them off the poles, and scatters them and their contents all al>out the
camp. Papers were afterwards picked up on the plain, blown more than
a mile from camp.

The men who are in Hospital, either sick or wounded, are of course not
able to eat the coarse army rations. The Government therefore com-
mutes these rations, allowing for such men their full value in money. The
Brigade or Post Commissary pays this money to the Surgeon in charge,
whose duty it is to see that the money is judiciously expended for such
food or delicacies as the Inmates of the Hospital can eat. This is known
as the Hospital Fund ; and in the Thirteenth it sometimes amounted to
$150 per month, and all our men while in the regimental Hospital were
always fed with the best food that could be obtained for them.

252 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

The expeiidituies from tliis fund were made, and the whole affair was
placed entirely in the hands of Royal B. Prescott, wliile he served as
Hospital Steward ; the accounts were carefully audited by the Surgeon,
and the Hospital of the Thirteenth was among the best furnished and
best provided for in the Brigade or Division.

April 22. Fri. Warm, fair. Reg. in camp ; no drill. Lieut.
Hall assigned to the command of Company F. Many men foot-sore from
marching through the mud and over rough roads. Virginia clay when
wet is about as sticky as glue in solution ; when dry about as hard as
glue in cakes and chunks.

Col. W. H. P. Steere, of the 4th R. I., leaves camp to-night, and is
succeeded in the command of our Brigade by Brig. Gen. Hiram Burn-
ham, from the Sixth Corps, and formerly Colonel of the 6th Maine.
Our Brigade is now the 2d Brig. 1st Div. 18th Army Corps ; and con-
sists of the 10th and 13th N. H., the 8th Conn, and the 118th N. Y.
The 18th Corps is commanded by Maj. Gen. W. F. Smith — ' Baldy ; '
and the 1st Division by Maj. Gen. W. H. F. Brooks. Gen. Burnham
received his commission April 15, 1864, and is assigned to the command
of our Brigade by special request of Gen. Smith. The 2d N. H. moves
to Williamsburg, where there is a large Union force.

April 23. Sat. Pleasant. Reg. in camp ; no drill. Lieut. Stan-
iels commences acting as Adjutant of the Thirteenth. We have a Bri-
gade Dress-parade — the first one for more than a year. We are en-
camped within the largest fort the Confederates had near Yorktown, and
the left wing of the 13th rests upon the graveyard of the rebel dead.
The boys say that ' neither party now cares to disturb the repose of the
other ; and they prefer to sleeji on the top side of a bed like this ! ' The
ground is liberally strewn with old army -iron — j)ieces of shell, parts of
gun-carriages, and a few huge bursted cannon, with varied and abundant
rebel camp-gear ; a very fine camp and drill ground, however, and reason-
ably clean and dry.

April 24. Sun. Pleasant, showery. Reg. in camp. Inspection
by Col. Smith of the 8th Conn., and a Brigade Dress-parade. Now
comes another reduction in the baggage of the Thirteenth, and the general
equipment is cut down to the lightest possible light marching order —
one suit, and one change of under-clothing. Extras are packed for stor-
age at Norfolk, and must be sent off within five days. The men are
writing many letters home to-day ; lying flat on the ground and using
their kna])sacks for desks. During a march many an order and memo-
randum is written on a soldier's knapsack, while it is sti-apped upon his
back and as he stoops for a moment and rests upon one knee. One soldier
of the 13th writing home to-day hits this expedition exactly, with : " Inspec-
tion — all day. It has been Inspection and Dress-parade ever since we
came to this camp."

April 25. Mon. Fair, warm. Company and Battalion drill. The
way to knock at a soldier's door is to scratch the cloth of his tent. When

1864 CAMP AT YORKTOWN. 253

drawn taut the cloth will respond with a coarse drum-like sound, anything
but agreeable to hear, and sure to elicit a response from tlie party within.

Gen. Burnham writes and distributes a volume of orders. An order
compelling officers to wear better clothes would be most acceptable. Too
many officers are slouching about in blouse and light-blue pants — a pri-
vate's uniform. Several officers of the Thirteenth, in disgust, sent their
measures and orders to Boston tailors in March last for full dress-suits
of dark-blue yacht-cloth. The coats made without lining. No officers
in our Brigade are now so neatly and well dressed, for this summer's
cam^jaign, as they of the Thirteenth.

April 26. Tues. Fair. Company drill a. m.. Brigade drill p. m.
Gen. Burnhani sits on his horse, mounted upon some convenient knoll,
and makes his tremendous voice heard clearly by our entire Brigade of
four regiments. We have heard no such power of voice before in the
army, and the General understands his business thoroughly. The Bri-
gade is handled as easily as a single regiment. The drill is made very
spirited ; is relieved of that too common air of drudgery pertaining to
such business ; every officer and man does his best, and the General fre-
quently compliments his command. Brigade review this afternoon.

It is not the purpose of the writer to go beyond the martial array of
the Thirteenth, excepting so far as may seem to him necessary in order
to furnish a general framework, within and upon which to jilace a rea-
sonably clear tableau of that one Regiment — the subject of our story.

The force now organizing here is called the Army of the James ; and
consists of the 18th Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. W. F. Smith,
encamped at Yorktown ; and the 10th Corps, lately come up from
Charleston, S. C, commanded by Maj. Gen. Q. A. Gilmore, encamped
at Gloucester Point. This army numbers, Infantry, 31,872 ; Artillery,
2,126; Cavalry, colored, 1,800; and a small body of white Cavalry;
also another body of Cavalry — about 2,900 — now operating about Suf-
folk and the Weldon Railroad, under Col. A. V. Kautz. Making a total
of about 38,000 officers and men of all arms, supplied with 130 cannon.

The objective point of the Army of the James, under Maj. Gen. B. F.
Butler, operating from City Point and Bermuda Hundred, is Richmond,
by way of the south bank of the James River, and also Petersburg. The
orders are very clear to move rapidly and capture Richmond.

The objective of the Army of the Potomac, 100,000 strong, now en-
camped along the north bank of the Rapidan River, under Maj. Gen.
George G. Meade, is the Army of Northern Virginia — 62,000 strong —
encamped along the south bank of that river, under Confederate General
Robert E. Lee, whose earth-works extend to Richmond and beyond.

Both these Union armies will co-operate under the supreme direction
of Lieut. Gen. U. S. Grant. He received his commission March 9, 1864,
visited the Army of the Potomac March 10th — Gen. Meade's Hdqrs.
being at Brandy Station on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, about
70 miles from Washington — and established his Hdqrs. with that army
at Culpeper Court House, and near those of Gen. Meade.

254 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

The Army of the Potomac will move down towards Richmond and the
James River, by a perpetual extension of the left flank, and unite with
the Army of the James either north or south of Richmond, as the results
of the cami)aign may determine.

In this perpetual extension of the Army of the Potomac hy the left, as
occasion may require or admit, corps after corps will leave its position
on the right of the army, march along the rear of the army, and take a
new position on the left ; whenever possible forcing in Gen. Lee's lines,
wherever these left-swinging corps may strike them. This series of
movements by the left, is very clearly described by Gen. Lee, as " Gen.
Grant's crab-motion."

It will be seen at a glance that no comparison can be drawn between
the positions of Gen. Lee and Gen. Grant. It is all contrast. Gen. Lee
is entrenched ; Gen. Grant is in the field. Gen. Lee commands a line
of a few score of miles in extent in the State of Virginia. Gen. Grant
commands not only the troops on the line confronting Gen. Lee at all
points, but also the entire armies of the United States, now regarded
as one line ; the Southwestern army the right wing, the Army of the
Potomac the centre, the Army of the James the left wing — the whole
vast host stretching wide across the region, of plains, mountain chains and
a thousand rivers, in the whole broad land from Mexico to Maryland.

April 27. Wed. Fair. Brigade Drill. The 10th Corps is at
Gloucester Point and said to be 18,000 strong. Their camp looks
grandly from the Yorktown bluffs-
Gen. Burnham is not always choice in his language. A member of the
13th mistook an order on drill, and the General called him a " leather-
head." The member had been a shoemaker. A certain jocular Lieuten-
ant in the Thirteenth could not resist the temptation, the next time he
met the member, to inquire of him : " How it was that Gen. Burnham
could know, at sight, that the member, an entire stranger to the General,
was a shoemaker by profession."

April 28. Thurs. Fair ; warm noon, cold night. Brigade driU.
As a second instance, Capt. Grantman is relieved from court martial
duty, at Portsmoutli and Norfolk, and rejoins the Reg. at Yorktown.
Lieut. Wilson and Sergeant Wheeler return to camp from Concord.

Cooks, and all detached men, are to be fully armed and equipjjed and
to take their turn at drill — that is, are called upon to do double duty.
The absurdity of it will be equaled only when all aides serve in their
regiments, and at Hdqrs. too. It is the subject of interminable joke, for
none can joke like our Army of the James — or " Army of the Games,"
as the penny-anti fellows call it.

April 29. Fri. Pleasant. Our Division reviewed this forenoon by
Gen. Smith, ' Baldy,' on the plain just out from Fort Yorktown, a
mile from our cam]). A vast cloud of dust rises and hangs over the
review-ground, and blue uniforms turn to whitey-gray on all the troops.
W^e look like an army of millers. A three hours" job. Reviews are a

18G4 CAMP AT YORKTOWN. 255

nuisance to the private soldier. The attempt at " splendid marching and
wheeling " is exceeding hard work ; and the standing with a musket at
a shoulder for one or two hours, as frequently occurs, seems like slowly
pulling one's arm off. Men have been known to drop their guns, from
sheer exhaustion of the muscles of the arm and hand.

Brigade drill in the afternoon. Gen. Burnham is fond of drilling in
double-quick time ; especially when forming hollow squares, and dropping
into the position of '' Guard against cavalry." It has been so quickly
done on several occasions as to shut the General out of the squares. He
usually smiles at such times and says, "■ Well done I " Rough and harsh
as he sometimes is, he is generally very popular in our Brigade.

April 30. Sat. Fair, fine. At 8 a. m. the 13th is mustered for
pay by Col. A. F. Stevens. Our Brigade has the only Band in our Divi-
sion — the Band of the Thirteenth. At 4 p. m. a Grand Review of the
whole force here, by Gen. Butler. While moving, the troops raise the
dust in perfect clouds, obscuring the lines, and when the review is over

— a three hours' job — the men look like an array of millers — the same
as we did on yesterday. The review-ground is near Fort Yorktown, a
mile from our camp ; and on returning this evening Col. Stevens causes
numerous rapid evolutions to be made by the Reg. and the comjjanies
get mixed up almost inextricably. On ai'riving at the regimental parade-
ground, he dismisses the Regiment by commanding the Captains to take
their Companies to quarters. Which order some obey by as many orders,
as many ' face abouts,' as much noise, loud voice, and racket as possible

— all pretty angiy. The trivial affair provokes a hot discussion. The
puzzle, however, of how-we-got-there, is solved in peace after a day or
two, and ends in good nature all round ; clear memories reproducing
the large number of evolutions with kernels of corn and pebbles.

May 1. Sun. Quite warm day, showery, cold night. Reg. in camp.
No inspection or parade. Masonic Relief Association of the 13th meets
and reorganizes. Capt. Stoodley succeeds Col. Stevens as President.
Lieut. Wilson, returned to the Reg. from recruiting service on April 28th,
and to-day is detailed for duty in the 1st Division Ambulance Corps. At
5 p. m. the Reg. is ordered to have four days' cooked rations, and 100
rounds of ammunition per man. Baggage is again ordered reduced, to
one valise for each two officers. On account of the company records the
Captains fare much the best in these reductions, reasonably claiming the
most of the space ; while the Lieutenants, unless they carry a knapsack,
are situated about the same as the enlisted men. The 1st Brigade of our
Division leaves camp.

May 2. Mon. Fair. Reg. in camp, and has the day for personal
affairs. Deserter from the 10th N. H. drummed out of camp. Seven
New Hampshire Regiments near here — 2d, 3d, 4th, 7th, 10th, 12thi
13th. The sick of the Thirteenth — five in all — sent to General Hos-
pital. Since we have been in this camp the Thirteenth has drilled every
day, unless the weather was very bad indeed. More attention than ever
before being given to skirmish drill.

256 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

May 3. Tues. Fair, warm. Skirmish and Brigade drill. The
number of teams is now reduced to one for each regiment — and this
makes over-loaded pack-horses of the men. Tliirteenth ordered to turn
in its camp equipage at 6 a. m. to-morrow. Medical stores placed on
barge ' C. A. Darnfield,' in the river.

A negress at Yorktown happened to see her boy — as black as a boot
— playing with some white children, and called to him : " Here, you
William Henry Harrison, you ; come out o' dar. Git 'way fro' dem
white chillen — or you '11 git bad all froo'." Soon he disappears within
her cabin amid numerous claps of spanking thunder, and solemn voices
from the deep. McH.

May 4. Wed. Pleasant. Reg. breaks camp early in the morning.
At 4 p. m. embarks on the steamer ' S. R. Spaulding ' with the 10th N.
H. While the troops are embarking, each vessel, as soon as loaded,
moves up the stream — as if that were the intended direction — and an-
chors. The whole 10th and 18th Army Corps are hurrying aboard as
rapidly as possible. At 9 p. m. we proceed down the river towards
Fortress Monroe, where we arrive at midnight, and remain until morning.

Wilde's Brigade of colored troops moves up the James in advance of
the main army, and lands at Ft. Powhatan. Gen. Hinks lands with a
body of colored troops at City Point. Kautz moves against the Weldon
Railroad. The Ai'my of the Potomac plunges into the Wilderness. The
spring campaign opens with vigor all along the line.

May 5. Thtirs. Warm, very fine day. Reg. passes Fortress Mon-
roe at 1 a. m. Boat lays to for a short time, moves again at 6 a m.,
and at 7 a. m. enters the James River. The long line of steamers, and
the hundreds of vessels in view — transports, gunboats, tugs, sailing craft,
dispatch boats, monitors, frigates, iron-clads — make a grand disjjlay.
Our line stretches for miles, consisting of five armored ships and a large
number of gunboats, from Rear Admiral S. P. Lee's North Atlantic
Squadron, moving as a convoy in advance to ojien the way, and protect
our transports following in a long pi'ocession. As this large fleet, or line,
of vessels passes along, among the many ships at anchor, or moving hither
and thither, sailors man the rigging and cheer, flags and banners wave,
bands play, salutes ring out — and there is glory enough for two days
crowded into an hour — a grand holiday excursion, a magnificent gala
day. Too much show, theatre, splurge, no touch of war at all. Gen.
Butler's steamer passes the whole fleet towards the head, and he is cheered
by the men on each transport, as his boat rushes past.

Tlie bay and river are very calm, the shores green and fragrant. As
the day wears away, and the river banks approach nearer as the river
narrows, batteries begin to appear, and towards night we frequently hear
the boom of a distant gun. Squads of cavalry appear, and disappear, on
the high ground, and we witness on the right bank what appears to be a
sharp cavalry skirmish. We pass Fort Powhatan at 4 p. m., and City
Point about dark — between 5 and 6 p. m. — proceed up the James

1864 YORKTOWN TO BERMUDA HUNDRED. 257

River, and anchor off Bermuda Hundred. As the darkness increases,
many of the men turn in, being advised to sleep while they may.

The Reg. debarks about 10 p. m., at Bermuda Hundred, four miles
above City Point, and bivouacs near by a little before midnight. This
from the writer's memoranda. There are many things requiruig atten-
tion, and it is long past midnight before the camp is quiet.

Prescott states that we debarked at 12.30 a. m. May 6th. Lieut.
Taggard with Co. F states that we arrived at City Point just at night,
and landed two miles above there at midnight. Lieut. StanieLs writes
that we landed at 2.30 a. m. The differences in hours given are probably
caused by the divisions made in the Regiment at the time of debarking.

A foraging party from the Thirteenth discover a nice pig to-night, and
a rap on his head quiets all squealing. He is killed and divided, and the
men are just preparing to cook a portion, when the order comes to fall in.
The meat is instantly cut up in small pieces, convenient to carry, and goes
to the front rolled up in paper, pieces of shelter tent, or whatever comes
handy in the haste. It is said that the most of it utterly spoiled before
an opportunity was found to cook any. A little soldier-scene at a dark
night's halt in the woods.

BERMUDA HUNDRED.

May 6. Fri. Very hot and sultry. A reconnaissance in force by
our Brigade with other troops. The Thirteenth has this morning scarcely
got fairly settled in bivouac, when at 6 a. m. we are ordered to fall in ;
and we at once proceed in light marching order and rapidly about six
miles up into the country to a point from which Petersburg can be seen,
and apparently about three or four miles distant ; here we halt for a short
rest. Soon we move again, and without seeming to approach any nearer
to the city make a longer halt a little after noon. Petersburg is now in
full view, also the Appomattox river and our gunboats. The men are
tired, and fall asleep anywhere and anyhow. Detachments from the force
commence work on the entrenchments about noon. In the afternoon heavy
firing is heard and regular volleys of musketry, showing that the advance
has found the enemy in force. We form line of battle at 2 p. m., and
moving slowly come under fire about 5 p. m., the bullets quite plenty.
The afternoon wears away amid much noise and smoke, but without any
special incident in our Regiment ; but at 8 p. m. our Brigade is suddenly
ordered to the front, by an aide riding up at a furious pace and apparently
in great excitement. This makes our blood tingle a bit, and we hope at
last that something is to be done ; but the order is soon countermanded,
and we turn aside and bivouac for the night, in thick woods, by divisions
closed in mass. Col. Stevens has been in command of the 13th about
half the time to-day. There has been a great deal of noise at the front
aU the afternoon, and our sleep is not much aided by what is threatened
for the morrow — especially if to-morrow shall prove as vexatious as

258 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

to-day ; but we take as much rest as veteran soldiers will and can under
any circumstances. Our bivouac to-night is about three miles from Port
Walthall on the right hand side of the main road from Bermuda Hmidred
to that place. We are said to be six miles up the Appomattox river, and
three miles from the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. Gen. Charles
A. Heckman's Brigade is reported to have had a severe collision with the
enemy close down upon the shore of the river.

It seems to us as if we have been all day long on the tail end — the
wig-wag end — of a badly managed reconnaissance. While the dense
underbrush thick with dead and dry laurel bushes has been tearing our
clothing like hooks of iron, and the bushes have switched our faces and
hands to bleeding, we have marched and countermarched ; moved to the
left, and moved to the right ; advanced with a jerk, ' fetched up sudden,'
and retreated in haste ; up hill, and down hill ; in woods, in briers, in
vines, in dry reeds, in clear ground ; in mud, in sand, in plowed field, in
garden, in small grain ; sent out skirmishers, and called them in ; have
run, and have crept slowly ; been called into line, rushed at a double-quick
for a minute or two, then halted — as if we had struck a snag ; nobody
knew where we were, nobody knew where we were going — and nobody
seemed to care a pewter sixpence ; heavy firing sprang up in the distance,
and then all was as still as death ; ordered to advance along the whole line,
and then ordered to lie down before we had moved three rods ; and so on
all day long — jerked, shunted, bobbed and walloped about until every-
body became angry all through and through, tired out, and cared not a
fig what turned up next. As one Thirteen puts it : " They worked us
like a big pickerel-bait."

BATTLE OF PORT WALTHALL.

May 7. Sat. An exceeding hot day. Reg. breaks camp at day-
light ; at 8.30 a. m. starts off in light marching order, and moves about
two miles, then deploys in line of battle, and proceeds very slowly through
a densely wooded swamp. Col. Stevens in command of Reg. The 8th
Conn, have the advance of our Brigade as skirmishers ; the 13th on the
right of the line at first and acting as their support. By 10 a. m. the
enemy's pickets are hotly engaged, and when we are about four miles dis-
tant from our last night's camp ; and the firing continues, along the whole
line, from this hour, throughout the day and evening — at times very
severe, the 8th Conn, losing heavily, their wounded coming back among
us in considerable numbers. AVe are very close up to their skirmish line,
and receive the enemy's over-shot bullets and shells in great plenty. The
whole Brigade sweeps across in line of battle, on the right of the main
road. A few men from the 13th commence firing upon the enemy's men,
as they are seen springing up, and running back, from cover to cover,
under the steady advance of the 8th Conn, skirmishers. The action of
the day is an advance fi'om our bivouac along the main road from Ber-
muda Hundred to Port Walthall.

The 13th, as a whole, is not brought to a fire, but men were never more
desirous to shoot, or charge, or something else with life in it. The men
and officers are exasperated by being mere targets, and jerked about
among the brush, up hill and down, through bramble, mire and swamp,
among spent bullets and bursting shells, among the dead and wounded,
all the day long ; when the enemy might, by one sudden dash, be utterly
routed in three minutes, captured to a man, or bs driven flying off the
field. To-day is a repetition of yesterday, only worse if anything. The
Railroad — AValthall Branch — appears to be the objective point. Be-
yond some very sharp skirmishing, the 13th do but little excepting to
move hither and thither, to suffer and to fret. It seems to some of us a
long drawn day of ' dawdling damphoolishness,' to employ an expression
used upon the spot — but we are still quite young.

The 118th N. Y. later in the day reach the railroad, and tear up and
destroy a long line of the track. Some of the 13th also take a hand. A
huge pile of the iron rails, and dry fencing stuff, is gathered on a bridge,
said to be over Swift Creek or a branch of it, and all burned together, the
rails warped, twisted and bent in the heat. The enemy set the woods on
fire, and many of the dead are Ijurned up — the wounded having been re-
moved and cared for. The fire compelled the Reg. to change position,
bringing it out upon more open ground, and under greater exposure to the
rebel sharp-shooters ; but no reply to them from our line is allowed.

260 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

The most nervous incident of the thiy is the bursting of a large rebel
shell high above our heads ; every man for a moment expects to catch
a piece, or one of the little balls, as they rattle down among the dry leaves
— no one hit. About one third of this shell, in one piece, comes down,
and strikes the ground with a loud noise, about ten feet to the rear of our
colors. The piece falls very near a Lieutenant in the 13th (Lieut.
Churchill, the writer believes), and he drops to the ground as if struck
dead, but is unhurt. It will not do to laugh at the stories about the
' wind ' of a cannon ball ; it causes a very disagreeable concussion and
enervating shock when passing very near a person, exjjerienced, too, be-
fore any sense of danger is realized.

The fight was first opened about 7 a. m. by a body of the enemy who
ambushed our advance guard of cavalry in a dense swamp. The cavalry
fell back in confusion and haste upon the infantiy skirmishers, and
the work of the day with them at once began. Later on the 8th Conn,
were put in. The 8tli Conn, lost 74 men, killed and wounded, having
met the enemy in line of battle along the railroad — it was reported on
the field that their loss was 105 men ; and in the afternoon, when that
regiment returned fi'om the front, they were heartily cheered by the
whole Brigade as they passed battle-stained to the rear. The 10th N. H.
at once moved to take their place at the front.

Lieut. Taggard had been very sick for several days previous to this
battle, but he tried his best to keep with the Reg. ; after marching a while,
however, he was compelled to leave the line and to stop at a house near
the battle-field until the evening of May 8th. AVhile he was at this house
ninety men of the 8th Conn, were brought there, and the arms or legs of
many of them Avere amputated. The 118th N. Y. also lost heavily.

The 1.3th, acting as a supjiort and reserve all day, meets with but one
severe casualty, though a number are more or less bruised by spent bul-
lets. After remaining near and in view of the line of our skirmishers all
day, covered by trees and the ridges of ground as nmch as ])ossible, the
Thirteenth retires some distance to the rear, and bivouacs late at night
in deep woods. A large detail is sent on picket, and the balance of the
Reg. settles down to rest in pitchy darkness. The excitement, extreme
heat, hard work, danger — and fret — together with smoke of powder
and of the burning brush, causes several cases of sunstroke. The men
left their knapsacks at the place of last night's bivouac, and this relieved
the labors of the day very much.

Probably the Thirteenth never saw during its term of service a more
unsatisfactory day than this one. There was apparentl}' no head, tail
or order to the work — a nebulous fight. Possibly tlie nearest answer
ever made to the questions : ' How to fight without winning ? ' ' How
to advance without going ahead ? ' The detail from the Thirteenth, and
our Band, who were sent together to fight the fire, had a fearfully hot
day's work, and the most of them gave out from the heat and exhaus-
tion. Nevertheless thev rescued all the wounded.

1&64 BATTLE OF PORT WALTHALL. 261

A singular wound was received to-day by Sergeant Oilman Davis of
A. A rebel minie rifle ball passed through his neck from side to side,
just back of his windpipe, breaking no bones, and apparently severing no
vital part. He died, however, during the night. Davis was wounded
about noon, or a little later, and while the Reg. was seated on the ground
awaiting orders.

Our Brigade advanced alone, as a body, and drove the enemy back
about one and one half miles. At one time we are just on the point of
engaging the enemy in full force, expect a severe encounter, and make
ready for it, when we are ordered to retire. A day of suspense. We
are exposed all day to shells and bullets, without the privilege of action
to relieve the tediousness of it ; pelted all day, and comjjelled to endure
it without striking back. We go into camp to-night, closely packed in
woods deep and very dark. A part of the enemy's troops met to-day
are ^nder command of Gen. D. H. Hill. The Union loss to-day is stated
to be 250. On the whole a bloody day for the force actually engaged.
About our bivouac to-night the dense pine woods ai'e filled with smoke,
and are stifling hot and close.

Quite the same as in unrestricted immigration, the Subs import the
vices of the nations whence they come. About a dozen of them in the
Thirteenth have been in the habit of doing some sort of mischief, on the
eve of a move, and thus seeking arrest and escape from duty. They
tried it last night ; and this morning they are, by order of Col. Stevens,
marched into the fight and danger, under arrest, and without muskets
or equipments ; the neighboring files in their respective companies being
ordered to shoot them instantly, if they shirk or run. It being of
course understood privately that they were not thus to shoot them — but
the Subs, as was intended, took the order to be one made in dead earnest.
A more thoroughly scared gang of cowai'ds than these fellows were,
when the bullets began to fly, no man ever looked upon. They had to
face the music for once. As the Reg. advanced, a gun and set of equip-
ments lay on the ground ; and no one who witnessed it can ever forget
the expression on the face of one of these Subs, and the tone of his voice,
as he said : " Captain — may n't I pick up that gun, and use it ? " He
was permitted to take the gun and use it — and he did I All of them
came out at night unharmed, and each had supplied himself with a gun
and set of equipments, off the field, where the dead and wounded had
left them. It was too bad to scare men so ; but it cured them of their
habit of getting up mock riots for the purpose of avoiding duty. What-
ever of blame may attach to proposing this plan, the writer will own up
to ; being in command of the rear-guard the night before he had to settle
the special disturbances made by these fellows, to disarm them, and to
endure no end of bother with them after they were placed under arrest ;
they needed a strong medicine to cure them of their bad habits, and he
suggested this plan to Col. Stevens.

Hospital Steward Prescott has an ugly experience to-day. He is sent

262 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

by Col. Stevens to ascertain whether a group of our skirmishers, lying
motionless at some distance in advance of the Thirteenth, are dead or
alive. He does not return for several hours. Meanwhile Manson S.
Brown of C is sent to the front to find him, hut cannot. The Regiment
is withdrawn, and there is much speculation and anxiety as to the fate of
Pi'escott. No one can penetrate to the point where he was last seen, on
account of the rebel fire. Finally very late in the evening he suddenly
appears in camp, and is welcomed like a lost boy. He had approached
near to the skirmishers referred to, in pursuit of his errand, when he was
beset by a severe fire from the rebel line of skirmishers. He dropped at
once behind a fallen tree, among dense underbrush — hence could not be
seen by Brown — the tree was made a target of during all the afternoon
by the rebel sharp-shooters, and he was compelled to lie still, close to the
tree, until dark, when he at once made his escape, fortunately unhurt.

May 8. Sun. Very hot, steamy, close, damp. Reg. taking a little
rest. Many say that last night was the darkest they ever knew, the
blackness being increased by the smoke of the burning forests. AVhen
the second picket was detailed the men had to be l)rought near to the fires
to be identified. The Reg. sleeps half the day. Orders are received
for the Reg. to be ready to march to-morrow at 4 a. m. with three days'
cooked rations. We have been listening to distant firing, the boom of
cannon and the rattle of musketry, si^ringing up at times all day ; and
have been in readiness, and hourly expecting, to march to the noisy front
and take a part in the action. The rest of a Sunday is in no way en-
hanced by this sort of thing. An old citizen, living near by, says that
our camp here is northeast of Petersburg ten miles, and eleven miles from
Richmond, by the mile-stones on the Turnpike — we being opposite the
11th mile-stone from Richmond. We have bivouacked for several nights
on nearly the same ground — on the right of the main road. See page
259. Lieut. Churchill is lame from some bruise received yesterday, but
continues on duty.

The enemy's troops encountered yesterday, and to-day, are known as
Brig. Gen. Haygood's South Carolina Brigade, just arrived from Charles-
ton. Gen. Pickett has been in command at Petersburg until recently,
when he was succeeded in command by Gen. Beauregard.

The line now being entrenched extends from Trent's Reach on the
James to near Port Walthall on the Appomattox ; a distance in a straight
line of three or four miles. Gen. Smith on the right near the James,
Gen. Gilmore on the left. The Richmond and Petersburg Turnpike is a
short distance to the front of tliis line ; the R. & P. Railroad nearly two
miles distant. None of Admiral Lee's boats can now ascend the James
above Trent's Reach. Our line is protected on both flanks by gunboats
in each river. The distance from Drury's Bluff to Trent's Reach is
about five miles by land, and about nine miles by water.

BATTLE OP SWIFT CREEK.

May 9. Mon. Fair, and very hot — 102'' in the shade at noon.
Reg. called at 3 a. m. and marches at 5 a. m. for the front, on the same
road that we moved out upon on May 7th ; and said to be the most direct
road to Petersburg. Col. Stevens in command of Reg. The men leave
their knapsacks in camp. We strike the Richmond & Petersburg Rail-
road at the 17th mile-stone from Richmond at noon. First we move up
the railroad a short distance towards Richmond, and tear up some of the
track ; and then turn and move down upon the embankment southward
towards Petersburg. Here Gen. Butler appears, with a numerous and
gay staff, and rides up to the front, close in rear of the skirmishers — ■
consisting of the 81st N. Y. — preceding the 13th on the embankment, as
we march along. Some one proposes three cheers. Up goes the Gen-
eral's hand, quick as a flash, and he calls out : " No, no, boys. No
cheers now." Soon he and his staff pass off the embankment to the left
and disappear. The 13th continues to move down on the railroad — in
support of the skirmishers on the left of the Brigade, Company C as
flankers on the left of the Reg. — until when near the 18 th mile-stone
the enemy commences shelling severely, the infantry are engaged, the
contest becomes furious, and we move off the railroad bank, to the left,
into a field, not far from the position reached by us on May 7th. We
pass around, however — sweeping toward the left, and then turn to the
right — and gain the railroad at another point farther down, and com-
mence tearing up the track, taking care to keep under cover of the rail-
road bank as much as possible — the enemy's bullets sweeping the road.
We move in line of battle a part of the time, and a part of the time by
the flank, as the ground demands. Other troops are moving down on the
right hand side of the railroad, and firing continuously. Shells are fall-
ing, and bursting, in all directions, and we are treated to clouds of pow-
der smoke. The battle actually commences to be severe about noon.

While crossing a muddy field about this time, near a culvert on the
railroad, a flashy Lieutenant, in a fine dress-suit, and wearing new, long
kid gloves with gauntlets, appears, and attempts to go up closer toward
the railroad bank, but he trips his toe in a vine, and falls headlong into
the mud. Rising clumsily, with both hands completely covered with
mud, he coolly draws off both gloves and throws them away, remarking
in a drawling tone : " Z'easiest way — to clean your hands — (hie) you
ever saw." In the afternoon he drew a revolver, and attempted to shoot
a Lieutenant in the 13th, whom he claimed that he ranked. The Lieu-
tenant instantly drew sword and chased him off the field ; but the half-

264 THIRTEENTH NEW HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT. 1864

drunken fellow was able to outrun his pursuer — whose same sword-hand
now survives to write this rummy incident. Rum is a cui'se.

Immense piles of dry wood are heaped on the culverts and bridges,
the railroad rails piled on, and then the mass set on fire, twisting and
bending the rails all out of shape, and destroying the bridges. We ad-
vance rapidly through woods and across fields and amid the dense, blind-
ing smoke, the battle raging on aU sides. The enemy steadily falls
back, and between 12 and 1 p. m. we come out under fire, into Mr.
Thomas L. Shippen's wide field — " Ari'ow Field " — that surrounds his
house, and situated on the left hand side of the railroad ; Mr. Shippen's
house and other buildings being on the farther side of the field towards
Petersburg. Here we catch a glimpse of Peter.sburg, some two or three
miles distant. We cross this field and approach the bank of Swift Creek
to the left and rear of the house.

Here the enemy's skirmishers are posted in force, and Companies B
and E, under Capt. Julian, are sent on the run to the left, to occupy the
near bank of Swift Creek among some trees, and where the bank of the
creek is

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Full text of "Thirteenth regiment of New Hampshire volunteer infantry in the war of the rebellion, 1861-1865: a diary covering three years and a day"

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